Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)
by justanotherpipedream
Summary: Tony was used to running. From Alliance soldiers, raiders, you name it, Tony's outrun them all. He's a man on a mission, and can't afford to fail. Not even for the devilishly handsome Bucky Barnes, smuggler, rogue and all-around space pirate. A Firefly/Marvel story of space, explosions and falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter One**

* * *

A/N: Written for MassiveSpaceWren as part of the 2017 WinterIron Springfling with the prompt:

 _Anything with some feeling of "keep flying, that's enough". Trying to get by, travelling in a run down ship/transport, some not-quite-legal jobs/situations, trying to do the right thing while not getting killed._

Special thanks to ficlicious for all her help.

* * *

Tony took a large gulp from his flask, the heat of the sand wafting around him. Tony pushed the goggles onto his forehead, wiping the dripping sweat onto his sleeve. He tucked the flask back into his cloak before reaching down to scoop up his sack of collected parts. Hopping off the edge of the side of the large wreck, the ship moaned as Tony landed in what looked to be the ship's former cargo hold.

As expected, the small transport ship was already picked clean from other scavengers, but Tony was pleased that he was able to find a few useful components that he needed.

"Come on DUM-E, that's enough for today!"

A beep echoed off the walls as a whirring noise grew closer. Tony knelt down to pick up the small bot. "Come on you, let's go home."

Passing through the laser-cut hole, Tony ducked as he hefted his cloth bag onto the back of the mini hovercraft. Placing DUM-E on top, he secured the straps around them, checking that nothing would fall off on the journey back.

"All ready?"

A light affirmative chirp responded as Tony slid his goggles down onto his face. Pulling his scarf over his nose, Tony started the hovercraft as he steered them out back into the wasteland. Sand whipped past them as the sun overhead scorched them from above. Tony weaved around the abandoned scraps of junk jutted out in the sand.

The junkyard was unfortunately just that; it had been picked apart cleanly, and not even Tony could scavenge anything useful from the leftovers. Well, at least it was a useful landmark.

Tony lifted his right arm, holding it towards the horizon.

"JARVIS, how close am I this time?"

The metal arm clicked open as a small antenna slid up, glowing a soft blue as it scanned the horizon.

"You are off twenty degrees sir. Please adjust twenty degrees east."

A projected path lit up in front of them as Tony steered the hovercraft to the left. "Not bad! Much better than last time!"

"Indeed, sir. Twenty degrees off is a grand improvement over the forty-five you were off the last time after being chased by the bandit scavengers."

"Technically, I just happened to be going in the same direction they were, and then they decided to try and rob us. I don't need this sass, I can still turn you into scraps you know."

"You could, but then you would only have DUM-E to help you make the coffee, sir."

"So much attitude. If I weren't offended right now, I'd be proud."

"Thank you sir."

After passing over yet another sand dune, Tony headed towards the vast swirls of hardened rock formations, towering into the endless sky of orange. The sun was starting to dip as Tony reached the base of the spiraling sand tufas. Tony clambered off the hovercraft, unstrapping DUM-E from the back, placing him back on the ground.

"There you go. Don't go too fast, or you'll get even more sand stuck and I'll have to clean you out again."

DUM-E beeped sadly as he slowly spun in a circle around Tony's feet.

"Don't be like that. I know you hate being cleaned as much as I hate cleaning you. Why don't you go start clearing some rocks?"

DUM-E brightened as he slowly made his way to large pile of rocks. Rocks started flying left and right as DUM-E tossed them cheerfully to the side.

Tony swung the bag off the back of the hovercraft onto the ground. Climbing back onto the hovercraft, he carefully maneuvered it beneath a giant rock formation. There, perfect. No one will see it overhead, nor can they spot it unless they knew what they were looking for…

Tony made his way back to DUM-E, adjusting the bag over his shoulder. The formerly concealed cave entrance was almost clear. Tony cleared the remaining rubble, ducking as a rock flew past his head.

"Careful! That's enough DUM-E, thanks."

DUM-E twirled around the cave, spinning past the makeshift 'workshop' area as he moved towards his charging pod. Tony dumped the contents of the bag onto the cave floor, sitting next to it on his sleeping bag.

"Night DUM-E."

DUM-E beeped softly as the charging light flashed as he settled onto the charging dock, the pod doors clicking shut.

Tony poured over the contents of today's scavenging. If the rates were the same as last week, he should be able to get just enough for the last part and some supplies.

"We're almost there J. How many days has It been?"

"It has been approximately 336 days since we have crashed landed on this planet."

Tony sighed as he separated the parts into usable and useless piles. Satisfied, he grabbed a meal pack from his shelf in the corner. Cracking it open, he placed it onto his metal plate and waited as the gruel began to bubble. He took out his flask, popping open the water jug, and carefully re-filled it with cool water. Gulping down the gruel, Tony licked the plate clean in a flash.

After tucking his flask back into his cloak, Tony snagged his sleeping bag and dragged it towards the mouth of the cave. The moon shone brightly alongside the blanket of stars stretched across the dark sky. Flopping down, Tony traced the constellations in the sky.

Remember darling, don't let them catch you. Red lips kissed his cheek as Tony was pulled into a desperate hug. You know what'll happen if they do. Director Carter pushed her godson into the secret escape pod, closing the latch behind him.

"So, what do you think J? Will we be up up and away by next week?"

"If my calculations are correct sir, with today's acquirement there should be enough to trade for that final part in the market tomorrow. Taking into account final repairs and a final supply run, we should be as you say, 'up up and away' in approximately 5 days."

"We're on our way, J. We're on our way."

Peggy smiled at him as she watched the escape pod left. "Don't let them get away with this kid…give em' hell."

* * *

"What do you think Buck, how's it looking?"

Bucky floated closer to the sealed vault. He tested the door hinges before checking the alarm key pad. Bucky pressed a few keys, but no green or red lights flashed back.

"Looks like the alarm itself is dead, but it looks like we'll have to gel it."

"Okay, it's all clear. Go ahead."

Bucky pulled the large cylindrical gun from his belt. He squeezed the viscous gel, outlining the edges of the vault door. The gel bubbled as it ate away at the reinforced steel door. Bucky yelled a triumphant cry as the vault door fell open.

"Alright kids, I'm grabbing the goods then I'm on my way back."

"Copy that. Nat and Clint are back, so you're free to return."

Bucky adjusted his tether as he swiveled to kick off back towards the ship. The Avenger was a breathtaking sight all on her own, and after way too much time in the space suit, Bucky was more than glad to head back to the ship.

 _Home, sweet home._

* * *

"Five-hundred and fifty credits, take it or leave it."

"It was six-hundred last week!"

"Yeah? Well, now it's five-hundred and fifty. Take it or scram man, I've got plenty others deals to make."

Tony glared as he shoved over the collected parts, grabbing the small communicator chip and his credits before storming off. DUM-E beeped angrily at the shopkeeper before rushing after Tony back into the marketplace. The market was almost empty; too many people were leaving for bigger cities and many stalls were closing. They either had no goods left to sell, or no people to sell them to.

Tony wandered over to the empty fountain in the middle of the village square, letting out a muffled cry as he flopped down on the stone edge. DUM-E whirred his way over with concerned beeps as he nudged Tony's leg.

"We'll have to go an extra run, I can't believe I'm just fifty credits short, but we should still be able to get the hell out of here by next week if we search more in the south- ouch DUM-E, stop it. What's wrong?"

DUM-E nudged him more insistently as Tony finally sat up, his stomach dropping at the sight. Four burly looking men exited the local pub, laughing as they entered the marketplace. All of them were visibly armed, with blasters hanging off their belts, a black and red ringed emblem stitched onto their jackets. "Shit. Shit. Shit. DUM-E, we've got to leave now."

Tony casually pulled his cloak tighter as he walked back past the empty stalls. He chanced a look behind him as Tony ducked into a small alley. DUM-E squeaked behind him as he followed along. "They saw us didn't they? We're going to have to split up DUM-E."

An onslaught of indignant beeps filled the air.

Tony knelt down with a small screwdriver, slipping in the newly acquired communicator chip into the back of DUM-E's side before sliding the panel shut. "Listen, there's no way we're going to get out of there if we stay together. I'll try to distract them and escape. I'll meet you back at the cave. If I'm not back tonight, I need you to stay put and contact Rhodey okay? Tell him to come and get you. Hide out in the bunker until he and Carol come."

DUM-E beeped sadly as he curled around Tony's leg. Tony knelt down, patting DUM-E's head before straightening again. "You know how important it is we don't get caught together. Now, go and stay out of sight!"

DUM-E whirred, rolling down the alley and out of sight. Tony quickly turned around before heading back out into the marketplace. Tony ducked behind an abandoned apple cart before peeking around at an empty town square.

"Heh, I was wondering where you disappeared to."

Tony whirled around, three pairs of dusty leather boots filled his vision. Oh shit. Tony winced as he slid his gaze upwards, meeting the gaze of the smirking mercenary.

"Well as much as you gentleman seem _lovely_ , I don't think you're quite my type. Nothing? Well, nice chat. Let's do this again maybe never. I'll just get out of your way-"

The mercenary in front of him pushed his coat back to show the glint of a blaster. "Not so fast. We didn't even get a chance to get to know each other. Let's go have a nice long chat. "

Tony slowly stood, hands raised placatingly. "Maybe some other time."

Tony raised his right arm as the palm flashed the raiders in a blinding blue. Tony darted in between the raiders as he ran. An angry shout followed him as Tony continued to press on. Angry cries from market goers filled the air as Tony weaved in and around the stalls, knocking things over behind him. Just as he rounded the corner, Tony ducked as an arm shot out, aiming for his neck.

Another arm reached out grabbing his non-metal arm roughly, jabbing the cold outline of a blaster into his side. Tony struggled, but the grip on his arm was too strong. Another smirking mercenary smiled back at him, gold tooth glinting in the hot sun. His partner jeered triumphantly as she waved a crumbled piece of paper in Tony's face.

A wanted poster with his face flashed back at him, along with a 50 million credit reward. Tony was roughly hauled to his feet, shackles clamped quickly onto his wrists and ankles as the mercenaries surrounded him on all sides.

"Nice try! At least this one has some fire to him. It makes it so much more fun to break him and stomp it out . I think we'll get along rather nicely, don't you think Stark? We'll have so much fun together…"

"Even if you bring me in, you know they'll won't actually give you those credits right? The Alliance never makes deals with raiders, much less terrorists."

Tony's heart pounded faster as the mercenaries only howled with laughter. "Oh you're a hoot Stark…who says we're handing you off to anyone?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

"Well, well, well, If it ain't Bucky Barnes. You got some nerve walking back in 'ere after what you've done."

Bucky ignored the glares on the side of his head, leaning forward to smile charmingly at the bartender stomping towards them with a scowl. Bucky winced as Natasha jabbed him in the side of the ribs. The crowd of the seedy bar jeered and howled as they settled in to watch the upcoming show.

"What did you _do_?" hissed Steve, eyeing the rest of the bar as the bartender got closer and closer.

Bucky smiled through his teeth. "I honestly have no idea. The only thing I remember last time is challenging that- oh shit."

Natasha closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. "You challenged his son to a drinking competition that ended up in him getting so trashed, he ran away with the milkman's daughter later that night."

Bucky and Steve winced as the bartender loomed over their table, suddenly surrounded by a group of five other very angry looking friends.

Bucky stood, hands raised sheepishly. "I don't suppose there's any other way to solve this gentlemen? How bout' I buy you all a round of drinks?"

The bartender's nostrils flared as his eyes saw red. Bucky could hear the screaming, but could only comprehend the lips moving in slow motion as the yelling continued.

Bucky could barely hear Steve whimper beside him, "Why would you say that? That's what got you-"

"-INTO THIS DAMN MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE! GET 'EM!"

Steve sighed as he finished the last of his drink. Nat stretched out her neck as the full-out brawl started in front of them. "So much for a quiet evening. Clint will be sad he missed this." Bucky cackled as he ducked under a stray hook punch, gleefully landing an uppercut as the other poor goon crashed into the counter.

Steve frowned as the two other men tried to grab Bucky from behind. "We better get in there now. I'd rather not strap him down in medical longer than I have to."

Natasha and Steve shared a glance before rushing in at the sound of smashing bottles.

Tony stared down at his chest in horror, breath shallow as spots danced around his vision. _Breathe Stark, nothing to worry about…just a fucking plasma battery plugged into my chest._

"I'm sorry, but that was the best I could do in the circumstances…"

Tony whipped his head around, gentle hands pressing him back down. "Careful. I know it's overwhelming."

Tony snorted before starting to cough. His throat burned as the wheezing rattled around his chest. Cool hands gently felt his forehead before holding out a small cup of water to Tony's lips. "I know that water is probably the last thing you want right now, but it could help your throat and to keep down the fever. Now, sip slowly…"

Tony shakily tipped the cup as he mouthed at the water. He squinted up at the man above him. "W-who are you and w-w-what did you do to me?"

The man paused, carefully placing the cup back on the metal table beside the cot. "Yinsen is my name. And what I did was save your life." He reached for a small metal tray, shaking it as small pieces of barbed metal rattled around. "I took out what I could, but there's still some pieces left in your heart. The electromagnet, attached to that plasma battery, is keeping what's left from embedding itself further into your heart."

A loud clang echoed as the large metal doors opened. Yinsen yanked Tony to his feet.

"Stand up and do what I do" Yinsen hissed, arms raised above his head. Tony followed suit, still blinking as three raiders entered the room.

The raiders clapped slowly, eyes focused on Tony as they smirked. Their leader opened his arms wide. "Welcome, Tony Stark, prodigal son of Stark Industries. Oh how the mighty has fallen, couldn't wait to get rid of the old man huh? I don't blame ya, but it's too bad ya weren't smart enough to hide the evidence after you killed him."

Tony snarled, insult ready to burst on the tip of his tongue. Yinsen gripped his arm in a vice grip, squeezing in warning. Tony bit back his tongue as he scowled at the man. The raider chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"Well at least one of ya has some sense. Now, remember that plasma bomb demonstration you had a few years ago Stark? You're going to build us one of those."

Tony sneered, staring at the raider straight on. "And if I refuse?"

The raider pointed his blaster at his chest as the other two raiders grabbed his arms. "If ya wanna be difficult, then why don't we show ya what happens to people who cross the Ten Rings Raiders."

* * *

Bucky winced as he felt of the sting of the antiseptic burning as cotton swapped at his small cuts. Bruce raised an eyebrow, as he continued to pointedly jab the small lacerations along Bucky's face.

"Ouch, I get it, I get it Bruce! Ya don't have to poke so hard!"

Clint snickered from the other side of the room as he wrapped Natasha's hand. Steve huddled in the corner holding an ice pack to his shoulder, falling asleep on his feet. Bucky heard a crack of a cold compress just before Bruce pressed it to his eye.

"It's one of the last we have, so make sure to ice that eye properly. We should be okay for a while, but I'd like to get some more basic first-aid supplies. You know, if Clint wants his turn at starting a brawl."

"I can't believe you all had to go start a bar fight _without me._ " Clint pouted, dramatically fainting into Natasha's lap. "Especially you Mrs. Barton. How could you? I thought you loved me."

Natasha titled her head with a smirk. "I do but only on the weekdays. I get weekends off remember?"

"How long do you think we'll be good for Bruce?" Steve stood from his corner, wincing as he slowly rotated his shoulder.

"Assuming everyone restrains themselves from smashing more bar stools, we should have enough for a month's worth of supplies."

Bucky sucked in a harsh breath, wincing as Bruce tightened the plates on his metal arm. A month's worth of supplies was nothing if they wanted to get of jobs to stay flying.

Just as Bucky was about to open his mouth, a giant thundering clang echoed below the ship. Clint cursed before rushing out the door. Natasha sprung up from the examination table, swiftly headed towards the bridge. Steve swore before hobbling towards the intercom.

"What's going on Clint, talk to me."

"FUCK. Shit, hold-on Cap-"

Clint cut out as loud crackling screamed from the speakers. Muttered curses echoed through the floors from the engine room. Hurried footsteps rang out as Clint came back on the intercom.

"I've just barely managed to patch it for now, but the catalyzer on the starboard compression coil is starting to give. If we don't replace ASAP, we're going to shine brighter than a supernova."

Steve slumped as he rubbed his eyes. "So new coil or we're dead in the air?"

"Pretty much."

"And how much is that going to cost me?"

Nat's voice cut in from the bridge, "Well, thanks to that last goods run, and what's left of our savings we should have just enough to cover it. But we won't have any leftover money for supplies. We might be able to scrape it if we head to Persephone."

Bucky narrowed his eyes. "But isn't that where Maria-"

Steve sighed. "It looks like we have no other choice. Nat, set a course for Persephone. We'll just have to deal with what she'll have planned for us."

"Copy that."

Natasha ended the call and Steve moved to peer over Bruce's shoulder. "How's it going?"

Bruce gently closed the panel as he twirled the screwdriver in his hand. "Thankfully, there isn't much more damage than the usual wear-and-tear, but sooner or later you're going to have to get someone to take a look-"

Bucky shot Bruce a warning glare before straightening. "Nah, we don't have the credits right now, and it's working just fine-"

Steve's brows furrowed in worry. "Are you sure Buck? I know for now we're tight on credits, but maybe-"

Bucky stood before clasping Steve's shoulder with his metal arm. "Don't worry about it Steve, I'll be fine. I would get to Clint before Nat does though, or you might wander in on a much different _debrief_ than the one you want."

Steve stiffened before marching through the door.

Bucky felt the pointed stare of Bruce from across the room. "That won't always work. You can't put off the pain forever Bucky."

Bucky refused to look at Bruce as he slipped his shirt back on. Bruce sighed as he grabbed Bucky's hand, slipping in a bottle of pills. "Take one of those when it gets really bad. I want to check on your arm once a week to make sure it isn't getting any worse."

Before Bucky could open his mouth to protest, Bruce silenced him with a deadpan stare.

"Unless you'd rather I tell Steve myself that your arm is hurting? Look, I know you don't want to worry him even more with the laundry list of even more expenses, but at least this way I can minimize the damage and pain."

Bucky and Bruce stared at each other, both unwilling to look away until Bucky sighed.

"Fine, you win."

Bucky ran a hand through his hair as he slumped. "Thanks Bruce. I'm sorry that I'm being an asshole-"

Bruce waved his hand. "Don't worry about it, Bucky, we're okay." Bruce chuckled as he snapped off his gloves and threw them into the trash. "So, you think Steve made it in time?"

"DAMMIT, NOT AGAIN YOU TWO. OH GOD, MY EYES- YOU BOTH HAVE A ROOM, USE IT!"

Bruce and Bucky couldn't hold back their laughter as Steve's frustrated screams reverberated throughout the ship.

* * *

Tony gasped for air as his head was sharply pulled out of the ice cold water. Tony coughed and sputtered as the his body shivered uncontrollably as he blinked to get the water out of his eyes. His wrists were throbbing as the shackles dug in, holding his arms behind him as he shifted off his knees onto the ground. Sparks flew as drops of water shocked his chest, and Tony tried to angle his dripping hair away from his body.

The man standing in front of him came into focus as Tony's blurred vision slowly cleared. He was different than the rest of the raiders, wearing a dark suit with black leather gloves. In comparison to the grittiness of the rest of the raiders, Tony had no doubt that this man was one of the ones in charge. He peered down at Tony with a mildly annoyed expression on his face, as if Tony were a cockroach that had the unfortunate fate of crawling under his shoe.

"My my Mr. Stark, you've been giving our men all sorts of trouble haven't you? Come now, we're not unreasonable. All we are asking for, is an _exchange_ of services."

A stack of blueprints were waved in front of Tony's face before being tossed at his feet. "All you have to do is build us those plans and we'll let you fly away with your freedom. You can keep running from the Alliance, and we won't say a word. We'll even give you a ship to fly under the radar."

Tall-dark and scary flicked imaginary dirt off his suit. "So Stark, what's it going to be?"

Tony's eyes darkened in satisfaction as his spit landed squarely on target. "Fuck you. I won't build you a thing."

A hiss of displeasure was all Tony heard, before being plunged downwards into the ice cold water once again.

* * *

"…and that should do it. You folks should be good to go now. Just be careful, I wouldn't cut her this close again, it's much too dangerous. Now, are ya sure you don't want me to fix anything else? I can tell you that there's a lot of work to be had with her…"

Steve shook his head grimly. "Thanks, but there's no way we'll be able to afford that right now. Can she still fly?"

The mechanic nodded. "You should be able to stay in the air without combusting into flames. But, I would still get some of her parts replaced as soon as you get the chance Captain. It ain't pretty…"

Steve shook the mechanic's hand in thanks before wandering back to Clint and Bucky, leaning by the entrance of the garage. Luckily enough, Persephone had a few places that did major repairs, and Bucky was able to haggle them a good price for the day's work.

"So, what's the verdict?"

Steve sighed. "Good news is that we got a new coil, and won't likely light up the galaxy. Bad news is that the account is almost dry. We're going to need to pick up a big job, or at least a few small ones, with an advance before we'll even be able to leave."

"Well thankfully Captain, I believe we have an offer for you that will be mutually beneficial."

Steve, Clint and Bucky stiffened at the familiar approaching messenger. Melinda May was terrifying all on her own, but Clint still had nightmares from the last job they ran for the ravagers. May glided into the room, no holster visible, but Bucky had no doubt that those outlines were hidden knifes obscured in her long leather boots.

Bucky suppressed a shiver. He had no doubt she could kill at least two of them before anyone could blink.

Steve cleared his throat. "…if it's anything like last 'easy' job then-"

May raised an eyebrow. "You'll be paid accordingly Captain. Like most of our agreements, you'll get half of it before and the rest once you arrive. This particular job requires a certain amount of discretion, and the Ravagers request a meeting to discuss the details."

Clint muttered under his breath as he leaned in towards Bucky. "The Ravagers _request_ she says. Like we would have an actual choice to refuse…"

May held out a red envelope to Steve. Breaking the seal, Steve pulled the crisp white invitation and Bucky and Clint read over his shoulder.

 _The Golden Dragon._

 _2:00pm_

May nodded. "Don't be late. Maria for one will be…displeased to say in the least, if she's kept waiting." May glanced over them one last time before she turned back to the entrance and left the garage.

Clint outwardly shivered as he shook his head. "Man that woman terrifies me."

Bucky snorted. "Aren't you married to Nat? Shouldn't you be used to terrifying women?"

Clint eyes glinted "Oh that's my secret Barnes. I'm always terrified."

Steve and Bucky groaned in unison as Clint snickered. "Nah, Nat's not that terrifying-"

A sharp clearing of the throat had Bucky and Steve grinning as Clint's eyes widened in panic. "…she's super terrifying, the love of my life, the wind beneath my wings, an independent woman like no other."

Natasha scoffed, but Bucky could tell she was amused. "And don't you forget it." Turning to Steve, she eyed the red envelope. "A job from the Ravagers? You sure you want to take it?"

Steve slumped. "What choice do we have? Especially after what happened on Osiris, she has a big favour to cash in. I don't think there's anyway we'll be able to refuse…"

Nat nodded. "Me and Bucky will be there with you." Natasha grabbed Clint and dragged him out. "We'll be on the ship in the meantime…"

Steve and Bucky grimaced as Clint whooped, Nat dragging him out by the jacket. Bucky snickered as Steve groaned. Steve stuck his head out and yelled after them "KEEP IT TO YOUR BUNK THIS TIME."

* * *

Small bamboo steamers were carefully placed in front of them as the waitress pushed the cart away. Normally, Bucky would be fighting Clint off at this point; dim sum was a crew favourite, and Bucky was already salivating at the smell. Steve poured Natasha another cup of tea as Bucky inhaled the soothing scent of chrysanthemum.

High quality tea was a luxury, and Bucky had no shame in taking advantage of the fact that Maria was subtly reminding them about how much money they'd make in accepting her deal. It was a weird dance between her and their captain, and it always amused Bucky to watch.

The doors to the private room opened as Maria entered the room, flanked by May and another ravager. Steve, Nat and Bucky rose to their feet as they each shook hands before sitting down again. May was intimidating enough, but Bucky sat there and tried to keep his eyes away from the other ravager's extremely shiny blaster.

Bucky bit the inside of his cheek as Natasha indiscreetly placed her knife innocently next to her chopsticks. Maria motioned to the food in front of them, and picked up her chopsticks.

"Eat. We'll talk business once we've finished eating."

It didn't take too long for the steamers to slowly empty on the table. Fresh dumplings, buns and vegetables were gone in a flash, as Steve, Natasha and Bucky slowly devoured dish after dish. Clint would probably have cracked a joke to ease the uncomfortable silence if he were here, but Steve's awkward small talk had to make do. Bucky pushed down all feelings of anxiety as he chewed furiously on a custard bun, subtly eyeing Maria as they finished their meal.

Maria slid a thin black card across the table to Steve. Setting down his chopsticks, Steve's eyes bulged as he saw the number of credits flashing back at him. Maria cleared her throat.

"That's half of it. You'll receive the other half on arrival after you deliver the barrels."

Steve placed the card back down onto the table, watching Maria carefully. "What exactly would we be delivering?"

Maria didn't blink. "Barrels of some of Xander's infamous wine."

There was a pause before Steve shot his incredulous 'don't-try-and-fool-me' stare. "A quarter of a million credits for wine? Xander's makes good wine, but there's no way you'd pay us this much for that kind of transport. What's actually in the barrels?"

Maria paused mid-way through sipping her tea. "That's on a need to know basis."

Bucky snorted. "And let me guess - we don't need to know."

Maria slid over a brown envelope, tied with a red string. "That's right. The less you know, the less problems you'll have. These are the papers you'll need for the wine. Don't worry, you'll be able to pass any onboard Alliance inspections, as long as they don't tow you back to base. Just stay out of trouble, and you shouldn't have any no issues."

Steve slid the card back. "I'm sorry but my rules are that I know exactly what I'm transporting, legal or otherwise. I'm not going to take that risk with my crew."

Maria pushed the card back. "All you need to know, is that we want you to drop the barrels with our envoy on Cerebus. Look, the reason we hired you is because we needed a ship that had the discretion to get them there safely, and trust them not to open any of the barrels before they get there."

Maria straightened up and patted the emblem patched on her right shoulder. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, you know that the job has to adhere to the code, even if none of you are ravagers."

Bucky frowned. _So basically, no dealing in kids, slaves or stealing from other ravagers. That doesn't narrow down much…_

Steve stared down at the card, indecision flickering across his face. Maria stood up, as the rest of the ravagers left the room. "We'll give you a few minutes to talk it over." She held up a hand as protests filled the room. "I know it's not a lot of time, but we don't really have much time to spare. If you refuse, we'll have to find someone else to take the commission. I'll give you ten minutes."

The doors shut with a click behind the ravagers. Steve, Bucky and Natasha all started at once.

"We should-"

"I think that-"

"Do you think-"

They paused as they gestured for Steve to go first. "Let's call Bruce and Clint and make sure that we're all here for this discussion."

Natasha nodded as she placed her communicator onto the table. The blue hologram hummed as Clint's face came into focus.

"Hey guys, how's the scary dim sum of doom tasting?"

Bucky groaned, patting his stomach. "Delicious, totally worth facing our potential doom."

Natasha held up her full napkin. "I snuck some for you and Bruce."

Clint cheered as he yelled back. "You hear that Bruce? My wife is the best and we get to get to try some dumplings before we ride off into the void of death!"

Steve sighed. "We are not going to die. Right away at least. That's the goal. All kidding aside, we need to have a family meeting. Could you grab Bruce please Clint?"

Clint ducked out of the frame, and returned with Bruce in tow. "So what's the verdict?"

Steve straightened up. "Maria wants to hire us to take some barrels to Cerebus."

Clint whistled. "That's pretty far away from the core Cap. What's the payout?"

"A quarter of a million credits."

Bruce's eyebrows shot up. "So what are we smuggling then?"

Steve hesitated, eyes closing. "That's the issue. We won't know."

Clint cursed. "Smuggling is one thing, but smuggling who-knows-what? That could actually get us killed. Plus, that area is crawling with Reavers and Raiders; it's like flying through a quantum meteor field Cap."

Steve stood up. "Exactly, which is why I want to call it to a vote. I wouldn't have considered this unless we really needed the cash. If we want to stay flying, we're going to have to take this job. However, I get that this is much more dangerous than what we would normally take on. Any of you are free to say no, and I won't say anything."

Clint snorted. "Of course we'll all be there Cap. There's no way any of us are going to let you do this on your own."

Bruce nodded. "We're with you Steve. We'll get through it together."

Bucky clasped an arm around Steve's shoulder. "So I guess we're doing this punk. No arguments, or doubting us you hear? You didn't drag us into this, we all decided to do it."

Steve looked at his crew, all nodding at him encouragingly. Bucky barely held back a grin as he could see the tears welling up as Steve tried to blink them back. "Alright, crew. We have a bunch of stuff to prepare if we're heading to Cerberus. Let's get going."

* * *

Tony jerked awake, peeling the papers stuck to the side of his face. Blinking, Tony rubbed his eyes, slowly adjusting to the dim light of the plasma lantern. The blanket around his shoulders slid off as Tony suppressed a yawn. A steaming metal cup was placed on the desk in front of him.

"Have some tea."

Tony murmured a thanks as he reached for the cup. The metal was warm against his palms as Tony inhaled the steam. Cinnamon and ginger filled his senses as Tony slowly sipped, the velvety tea warming him. Visions of black tea poured carefully into small pink and white tea cups rang clear in his memory.

 _Always use your good china darling, you'll never use it otherwise. People always wait for the right guests or special occasion to use them, but then they sit there in the cupboard unused. Besides, my nephew is always a special guest._

"What've you been working on?"

Tony carefully placed his cup down, smoothing out the plans on the worktable. "This will be our ticket out of here."

Tony could feel Yinsen inhale behind him. "If they find out-"

"They won't."

Tony stared up directly at Yinsen. "It'll be too late once they do."

Yinsen stared at him in contemplation. " And what will you do when you escape? Where will you go?"

Tony tapped his fingers on his chest, soft blue light glowing through his chest. Thankfully, none of the raiders seemed to care that Tony built a miniature reactor to power the magnet in his chest; as long as he was alive and (seemingly) doing his work, they left him and Yinsen alone.

Tony rubbed at his elbow, the surrounding tissue was red and sore. He shifted and sighed as he removed the prosthetic and placed it onto the work table in relief. Discreetly peeking, Tony sighed as the holodrive was still hidden inside the compartment.

Tony hesitated before slowly speaking. "I…would find my friends. I've got something…important I have to do. I've got a lot of things to make up for, and if I can get this right…if I can _make_ this right…then hopefully something good will come from my mistakes."

Tony flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He relaxed, giving Yinsen an apologetic look. Yinsen shook his head with a sad smile. "I have seen many men before with injuries like yours. Dead men walking, we called them. Not just from the shrapnel in their bodies, but also from the emptiness in their eyes. Unlike them, you have something worth fighting for Tony Stark…a purpose."

Yinsen refilled their cups. "Don't let that hope die. It will carry you far, and keep you alive."

They drifted into a comfortable silence, occasionally sipping their tea. Tony cleared his throat. "What about you? After, you know…all this?"

Yinsen stared down at his tea. "I think…I would like to travel if I can. Before I was dragged here, I'd never really left my home planet. My family needed me to work, and we had enough to get by. But if we get out of here-"

"When."

Yinsen blinked, smiling wistfully. " _When_ we get out of here, I would like to see more of the galaxy. Visit my family."

Tony drained the last of his tea. "That's nice. Maybe after you catch up with your family and I finish my mission, we can travel the galaxy together. I'll take you around, and we'll see the sights."

Yinsen chuckled. "You are a good man Tony Stark. I would be honoured to have you as my tour guide."

Tony poured the rest of the tea into their cups. "Not sure how good exactly I'll be, bounty and all, but I'll do my best. If we're gonna get out of here, we're going to have to get our plan straightened out…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter Three**

* * *

Bucky stopped in the middle of the road, shoulders shaking with laughter. Natasha looked up from her tablet.

"What?"

Bucky nodded towards the ship. "Remember, we all warned you. You married him anyways."

Natasha could only stare, her tablet dangling in her hand, dangerously close to falling. Clint was lounging on a beach chair, sunglasses and flowered shirt on display as he leaned back. How he got that red drink with the pink umbrella, Bucky could only wonder, as Clint cheerfully waved back to them as ravagers walked by, carrying barrels into the cargo hold of the ship.

Natasha muttered under her breath as she stomped over to Clint, grabbing the drink out of Clint's hand and shoving it towards Bucky. She hauled Clint up by the collar as she marched them inside the ship. "They're going to put them in the wrong place, and _you_ will be the one moving them back into the right place…."

"Nooooo not my Hera Sunriseeeee-"

Bucky frowned as he took a sip. Huh, not bad. Downing the rest of the drink, Bucky closed his eyes as he lay back on the beach chair.

"Excuse me, are you the captain of this ship?"

A shadow fell over Bucky's face as he slowly sat up. A tall blonde and beefy man stared down at him, long shaggy blonde hair being pushed behind his ear. Another man behind him, with long-dark brown hair scowled as he stared off into the distance.

"No, but he should be here soon. Is there something I can help ya with?"

Tall, blonde and buff beamed at him, his shaggy hair bouncing as he shook Bucky's hand enthusiastically. "Indeed my friend! Your associate, Clinton mentioned that you might be able to provide us with passage to Asgard! We have returned with our belongings and payment as asked."

Bucky just slowly managed to extract his hand. "I'll have to confirm with our captain, but I think that should work. We're heading in that direction anyways. I'm Bucky."

Nodding the blonde grinned widely. "My name is Thor, and this is my brother Loki."

The other man flicked his eyes towards Bucky. "A pleasure."

Bucky's eye twitched as he clenched his hand to his side. "Not much of a talker are we? Well, let's see what you've got for payment."

Thor grabbed a small box out of his sack, and handed it to Bucky. "I know it isn't much, but hopefully this is payment enough."

Bucky opened the small box, sucking in a sharp breath. Bucky picked up the small purple plum from the pile, holding it up to the sunlight. "Welcome aboard the Avenger."

* * *

"Come on-come on-oh please just a bit more…"

As the suit powered on, Yinsen snapped the last arm-plate onto Tony's arm. The iron suit groaned as Tony slowly took his first few steps. Tony slid the helmet on. "Moment of truth here."

As he secured the helmet shut, a feeling of panic clawing in his chest as Tony fought to let go of the breath he was holding. Come on Tony, you can do this.

This'll work…this'll work.

It has to work.

Tony let go and sucked in the cool air of the life support system, sighing in the realization that he could breathe normally. Tony glanced down at his right arm, whispering softly.

"You okay J? You back online?"

Tony could hear feel an affirmative buzzing in his arm, like someone was squeezing his hand gently. "I'm back with you sir, I'll be with you the entire time."

"Ready Stark? We've only got one chance at this."

Tony let out a sharp affirmative, testing out his footing, as he slowly took a few steps. "Let's go. The system will notice that we looped that camera footage soon enough. Remember, we just need to get to the loading dock or the cargo bay. Hopefully we'll be able to grab a ship. If not, a spacesuit for you will have to do. We need to leave. _Now_."

Yinsen nodded, moving out of the way. Tony stomped towards the large metal doors. He held up both arms and fired.

* * *

Bucky expertly flipped his knife as he chewed on his apple wedge. Natasha sat across from him at the table, her skin curling down as one continuous piece. Their kitchen didn't have much, but it was a good place for the crew to relax together. Bucky savoured his apple as he cut out another slice.

"So, what do you think about our new 'shepherds'? They honestly don't even look like brothers, much less shepherds."

Natasha flicked the peel onto the table as she sliced into her apple. "Supposedly, Loki was adopted. Or so Thor says."

Bucky twirled his knife. "Well at least Loki actually fits the look. Not even Steve is that buff, and he really went for it after we joined up with the Alliance."

Bucky still vividly remembers those horrifyingly early mornings where Steve would drag him out of bed to 'get into shape'. Bucky still thanks the stars that Steve finally bulked up after joining up with the Alliance army; now at least, Steve won't drag Bucky with him on those awful runs.

Natasha stabbed her knife into the table. "We'll just have to keep an eye on them. We're lucky we got the commission in the first place."

Bucky shuddered. "Have I ever mentioned how glad I am you decided to leave the Companions' guild and join us full-time?"

Natasha smirked. "Clint pouted for a while; he really did love the new outfits I got every month."

Bucky grimaced. "Thanks for that image I can never erase."

Natasha lips twitched. "I do admit, I do miss it sometimes. Never having to really worry about the basic necessities, the parties, the constant sex, the conversation…it was nice. But I'm happy with my life now."

Bucky raised his eyebrow in disbelief as Natasha snorted. "Oh come on Barnes, you know it's much harder than that…"

Bucky snickered, as Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm ignoring that."

"Fine, _**ouch**_ _-_ _ **FINE**_. But really? It sounded like you had it made. I know Clint would've supported ya if you decided to stay. Why give it all up?"

Natasha cleared her throat, twirling strands of hair as she stared back at Bucky, frowning in contemplation. "While the luxuries and endless parties were nice, it was getting…exhausting. I have friends who love the lavish lifestyle and the job. And for a long time, I loved it."and getting to play different roles and faces depending on the client you're with. But, it was getting tiring, and I'm much happier not having to juggle between Natasha the vamp or Natasha the submissive…"

While Bucky nor Steve had ever been able to afford the luxury of paying for the companionship of an actual companion, Bucky had always remembered seeing them. Usually covered in head to toe in jewels and the richest cloth, Bucky had always envied the respect the companions of the infamous _Red Room_ carried, no matter where they went.

Natasha closed her eyes as she leaned back. "But after a while it got tiring for me. As a companion, clients don't just pay for sex. They expect conversation, privacy and most importantly… they expect a certain role to be played. Some want Natasha the quiet, submissive ear, while others want Natasha the vamp. Now I can just be…me. Just…Natasha."

Bucky let out a soft breath. "Yeah, I get it I think."

Bucky blinked a few times as he saw one of Natasha's rare smiles, the type that lit up her entire face. She pointed her knife at him. "But if you tell anyone I told you that, I deny it and kill you in your sleep."

"Like anyone would believe me anyways."

A comfortable silence settled, and Natasha fiddled on her tablet as Bucky sharpened his knife. "What are you looking at on there anyways?"

Natasha didn't look up. "Just checking the notice board. The Alliance is still posting some new jobs here and there, and bounties. We were lucky enough to get some commissions for now, but I want to get us ahead again if we can."

Natasha pulled up the notice board and slid the tablet to Bucky. Bucky scrolled through the different faces, all with varying rewards for their capture and retrieval.

Suddenly, red flashes filled the air, alarm blaring. Natasha was already on her feet as Bucky tossed the tablet onto the table. Steve's voice rang out, "Everyone to their positions. Bucky and Nat to the bridge."

As Bucky and Natasha rushed out the door, they missed the tablet on the table fading to black, as Tony Stark's smiling face grinned back at them.

* * *

Explosions rang out as flames engulfed the ship. Guards shot their blasters and screamed. They tried to stop him but Tony burned them all. The ship was slowly crackling, rumbling as it became a bright burning star in the air. Everything blurred by so quickly as Tony and Yinsen fought their way across the raider ship.

And then….everything was in slow motion.

Yinsen was right behind him, grabbing a blaster and shooting from behind. But now, Yinsen was shot, and dying in Tony's arms and Tony could only watch as Yinsen slowly disappeared in front of his eyes.

"My family is already dead Tony. It's fine, I will see them soon. But you, Tony Stark. You will not waste your life. You will get off this ship and you will live."

As Yinsen drifted away, Tony rose from the flames. Screams echoed across the ship as the noise got louder and louder, the ship falling apart as it rumbled and burned.

Tony blasted into space, and suddenly everything was quiet.

Bucky sprinted, barely managing to catch up to Natasha as they reached the bridge. Slightly out of breath, Bucky moved next to Steve who was talking intently to Clint.

"What's going on?"

Steve glanced up as Clint motioned to the monitor. "The scanners picked up a ship. Take a look at _that_."

Steve paused as he stared down at the monitor in surprise, then out the window. Bucky stared as he saw a giant ship in the background. Nine smaller ships hovered close by, all surrounding this gigantic invader ship that floated quietly in space.

Steve furrowed his brow. "Shielding up Clint to max capacity. Make sure we're invisible."

As they passed closer, Bucky inhaled sharply. "Well it looks like we won't be torn to shreds by reavers, but maybe raiders."

The ships were painted black and red, rings clearly indicating the Ten Rings Raiders. Bucky swore as he counted the smaller ships slightly behind.

"Shit, that's definitely ten ships, including their main base!"

Steve cursed. "Can we slip past them? Throw up our cloaking?"

Clint squinted his eyes, staring down at the scanner. "See normally I'd say we might have a problem, but for some reason, the scanner is picking up weird amounts of heat radiating from the main ship."

Bucky blinked. "What does that mean?"

Clint gaped as he pointed. "Well, apparently that."

The Avenger crew watched in astonishment as what looked like small explosions taking out the side of the ship. Smaller explosions rocketed the ship as they saw the ship explode, lighting up half of the ships nearby.

Steve looked back at the scanner. "Do we know what caused that?"

Clint didn't look away from the window, but his fingers flew across the console. "Look, there!"

A small man in a large metal suit looked to be flying away from the remains of the ship, being chased down by the remaining ships. He weaved in and out of the ship ranges, as two of the smaller ships took each other out.

"Yes!" Bucky cheered. Bucky couldn't stop the grin on his face as they watched the raider ships slowly being taken out by that robot? Man in a metal space suit? Bucky wasn't sure, but he was definitely enjoying every second of it. The metal man turned just enough to aim his arms and fire back, red blaster beams shooting out of his hands. "Well that explains the fireworks. Those raiders are definitely not happy about their escapee."

"Whoa," Clint exclaimed. "That guy took out another ship! At this rate- SHIT LOOK OUT!"

Bucky wanted to scream as he saw the metal man get hit. It barely grazed him, but it looks like the his right repulsor started to sputter. Bucky turned to Steve. "Come on Cap, we can't just leave him there all by himself."

Steve furrowed his brow, but closed his eyes, nodding. He clasped a hand on Clint's shoulder. "Can we take any damage at all? How are the shields?"

Clint nodded. "Since it's just the smaller ships left, and they're all single pods, our shields should be able to take a few good hits.

Steve let out an amused huff. "What, with the best pilot in the galaxy? Come on Clint, you're always bragging bout that title. Maybe it's time you showed us. Let's make this a fair fight shall we?"

Clint grinned, cracking his knuckles as he pulled the steering wheel back, hand on the thrusters. "Well, how can I say no to a challenge like that? Ready babe?"

Natasha echoed an affirmative as she sat down in the gunner's seat. Clint smirked over his shoulder at Steve and Bucky. "You'll want to buckle in tight, this is going to be a sharp turn."

The Avenger made a sharp left as Clint pulled in behind the three remaining ships gunning for metal man. Natasha let out a hiss of triumph as she shot down the one on the right.

Clint maneuvered out of the way as debris from the middle ship flew past them in the explosion, thanks to space man shooting it out of the sky. Clint pulled up alongside the lone man as they aimed and fired at the last ship. It took a bit of weaving, but Natasha managed to lock onto the last ship as their fellow space cowboy took aim.

Clint cackled. "Goodnight motherfuckers."

The blast took out the last ship in a blinding wave of light. The cheers on the Avenger echoed as Clint and Bucky whooped and clapped.

Bucky couldn't help the bubbling laughter as he watched the man in the suit circle around the ship, a clear victory fight.

Steve grabbed onto Clint's shoulder. "Let 'em into the airlock. From the looks of that fight, they're dead in the air if they're out there much longer. We'll see if we can find out what happened. Be on guard though. They managed to take out a lot of that fleet by themselves. Bucky and Nat, make sure to keep a careful eye on our guest."


	4. Chapter 4

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter Four**

* * *

The airlock opened with a whir as the doors slid open. Bucky could only stare in astonishment as the man in the metal suit slowly stepped forward. Bucky felt a nudge, and he re-positioned his blaster aiming for the glowing, white chest. It was clear that the suit itself wouldn't last any more damage; many places had scorch marks and looked like it would fall off at any second.

"Take off the helmet slowly. Any funny business, we shoot."

Arms slowly raised in the air as he placed them on his head. With a sharp twist, the faceplate snapped back, and the helmet was removed. Bucky inhaled sharply.

Soft wispy curls peeked out, covered in grime and dirt. Gorgeous brown eyes peeked out, darting around the ship and taking in the crew. His goatee had a bunch of scraggly hairs sticking out, and there was a cut on his chin.

He was beautiful.

Bucky could only freeze as the eyes swept over the crew, gaze locking onto Bucky's metal arm, clasping the blaster. Bucky fidgeted, but straightened under the scrutiny as glassy eyes widened. At first a searing flame of anger filled Bucky's stomach, but it left as soon as it entered as he saw…something different.

No fear, disgust or guilt shined back at Bucky, but a sense of wonder.

Curiosity.

A sharp cough tore the man's gaze away from Bucky and to Steve coming up beside him. Bucky almost reeled at the glare Steve shot towards the man. Bucky could see the muscles jumping in Steve's neck as his jaw clenched.

"Didn't your mother teach you that It's rude to stare?"

Bucky cleared his throat. "It's fine Steve, just let it go."

The man's smile was tight, his voice hoarse and scratchy. "I wouldn't know, she passed during the war."

Steve's eyes flashed with guilt before settling into a more neutral expression. He crossed his arms around his chest, waiting. The man's smile slowly slid off his face.

"Look, I don't mean to cause you all any trouble. If you have a spare pod ship, I could be out of your hair. Or maybe you could drop me off on the next habitable planet-"

Steve cut in. "Look, I want to help you, but you're going to have to fill us in on what happened-"

Bucky lurched forward the moment he saw the eyes rolling into the back of his head. Bucky caught the man with a grunt as he slowly slid towards the ground.

"A little help here." Bucky grit his teeth as Natasha and Steve rushed over to help him. The man was unconscious as his head lolled around. Carefully cradling his head, Bucky slowly lay the man down on the ground. Bruce rushed over, concern clear as he started to bark orders.

Bucky held his head steady as Natasha and Steve carefully peeled the armour off. Bucky sucked in a harsh breath, as a wave of nausea rose up. Burn marks scorched his arms and legs with ugly purple and yellow bruises covering the skin all over. The light was still glowing from under his shirt in the middle of his chest. As Bucky slowly moved his hand, he blanched as warm sticky blood coated his fingers.

"Bruce!"

Bruce's eyes snapped over to Bucky's hand, then to the man's head, cursing as he motioned them to carry him to medical. Everything after that was a bit of a blur to Bucky, as the unconscious man was lifted onto a stretcher and Bucky found himself gently shoved aside as Bruce got to work.

* * *

Tony found himself floating. His head felt heavy, like he was wading through this dense, thick fog where far-off echoes could sometimes be heard. He was just so tired. His limbs felt like lead weights, unwilling to move no matter how half-heartedly Tony willed them in doing anything. The echoes flickered in and out, and Tony could only catch snippets here and there.

"…extensive surgery…chest cavity…too deep… dehydration"

"…no doubt… tortured…surprised….still alive…trafficking?"

"…awake yet…still healing…"

A soft beeping noise woke Tony up, as he scrunched his eyes closed. Slowly blinking his eyes open, Tony launched himself up as the beeping picked up frantically _._

 _I regret that decision_ , Tony thought dizzily, as the queasiness in his stomach decided to make itself known as Tony frantically tried to blink away the spinning room. He turned his head desperately, staring at his right arm. Tony's stomach unclenched slightly as his prosthetic arm was still attached.

Still hidden. Still safe.

Tony felt himself being gently pushed back down, as he focused on the metal hand firmly settling him back onto the cot.

Tony stared as crookedly dark and handsome stared down at him, smirking. "Slow down princess, you'll tear your stitches.

Long strands of hair fell over his face as the man grabbed a glass with a straw from the side table, lifting it to Tony's lips. Tony sucked greedily, as he watched the man sitting next to the cot.

Leaning back, Tony slowly sat up as the unfairly gorgeous muscly man carefully helped him sit up.

"So if I'm a princess, does that make you Prince Charming?"

His helper chortled. "I'm no prince, but I'm definitely charming. Ma name's Bucky, first mate on the Avenger."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So not a prince, but a pirate."

Bucky's eyes twinkled. "Much more interesting I think. Bein' a pirate."

Tony chuckled, wincing as he felt a pain on his side. Lifting his shirt, he saw clean, white bandages wrapped around his ribs. The skin around the reactor was red and puffy, and glancing up at Bucky, he quickly pulled down his shirt.

Looking back up, Tony saw Bucky's gaze still staring at his chest. Seeing the question in the other man's eyes, Tony quickly moved to change the subject. "So, since I'm still here with clean bandages and not floating in space somewhere, I take it you decided not to toss me out of the airlock?"

Bucky winced, straightening back a bit before running his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry if we seemed a bit rude at first-"

Tony waved his hand. "Nah, I get it. I'd be suspicious of a man that showed up blasting out of a raider ship as well."

Bucky opened his mouth to respond, but a new voice cut in.

"That doesn't give us the excuse to be rude."

Tony swivelled his head. The blonde haired buff, dammit how is everyone on this ship so damn attractive, captain from earlier, strolled in. Behind him, a man in a white lab coat followed, scribbling notes on his clipboard.

Captain-tightass stopped in front of the cot, staring down at Tony guilty. "About earlier, I shouldn't have gone off on you like that-"

Tony shook his head. "You thought that I was staring at your friend's arm, which was right, but not for the reason you're probably thinking."

The captain blinked, confused as Tony motioned to Bucky's arm. "It's a…Stark prosthetic right? One of the older models, but I still recognize it."

Bucky stared at Tony in amazement. "You work with prosthetics?"

Tony smiled, eyes staring down at his hands. "Used to. Not- not since I was taken-"

Bucky cursed under his breath, as the captain's eyes widened in horror. "-by the Ten Rings. And I thought that you-oh shit, I'm sorry-"

Tony stared up at the captain, blinking slowly. "…yeah, that's…yeah. It's fine, you don't have to-"

The captain stepped forward, clasping Tony's hands in his. "Of course I have to! You were kidnapped, tortured and just managed to escape, and then we made it _worse_ -"

Tony squeezed the man's hands. The captain's blue eyes stared at him in such wide-eyed earnest, that Tony could only pat his hands in reassurance. "Don't worry about it Cap. If I were you, I would've done the same thing. And I should be the ones thanking you. You helped me take out those other ships and let me aboard when I woulda been dead in the air otherwise. So thank you."

"We only did what was the right thing to do. In any case, we'd be happy to drop you off anywhere you needed to go. It might take a while, since we're takin' some people out to Asgard then stopping on Cerebus for a delivery. But if you need to get somewhere after that, we'll be happy to take ya."

Tony wanted to cry in relief; luck was actually on his side for once. "Actually, if you could drop me off on Asgard as well that would be a big help. I have some friends I can contact there."

The captain beamed. "That's great-oh I realized we didn't get your name! I'm Steve Rogers, Captain of the Avenger. The man fiddling with your charts in the corner is our onboard doctor, Bruce. And this fella of course is my first mate Bucky."

Tony smiled, staring down in amusement at their still intertwined, shaking hands. "I'm...Tony. Tony Edwards." Bucky leaned over and slowly extracted Tony's hands from Steve's. Steve turned a bright red before muttering the need to check on something before fleeing the room.

Tony held back a laugh as the captain was gone in a flash. "He reminds me of a puppy."

Bucky paused for a moment before clutching his sides to howl in laughter. "Oh my god, you're right. I've never thought of it like that! Even Nat has trouble saying no to those blue eyes. And he's no doubt the most stubborn punk I've ever met."

A soft cough from behind had Tony peeking up. The man in the lab coat, Bruce was clearly holding back a smile. "Settle down Bucky. Don't get him laughing too much, or his stitches will tear."

Bruce adjusted the IV drip as he considered Tony carefully. "Bucky, I think Clint was looking for you earlier. He's down in the engine room I think."

Bucky nodded slowly getting to his feet. He smiled at Tony before waving. "Get some rest, and I'll check back with you in a bit."

Bucky left the medical bay as Bruce slid onto the stool. Bruce glanced at the door before turning back to Tony. Tony tapped his fingers on his chest.

"So doc, what's the verdict?"

Bruce cleared his throat, eyes glancing down at Tony's fingers. "In addition to dehydration and severe weight loss, first degree burns on your arms and legs and second degree burns on the soles of your feet. You've also got some bruised ribs. The good news is no concussion."

Bruce stared at Tony straight on. "And as for your chest… the skin around the magnet seems to be irritated, but should heal soon enough."

Tony could see the look of _knowing_ in the doctor's eyes as he stared at the glowing blue of the reactor. "I know doc. I know about the plasma…"

"So you know that it could _kill_ you if you don't replace it-"

"I know," Tony breathed, "I put it in myself."

A strangled cry tore from Bruce's throat and Tony could see him turning green. "You put it in your own chest? Please tell me you had some help…"

Tony's throat closed up as he stiffly nodded. "I did. He- he removed what he could, but there's still some pieces of shrapnel left." Tony tapped the reactor gently. "This is a temporary fix, but it keeps the ticker running for now."

Tony couldn't meet the doctor's eyes any longer, fidgeting under his understanding gaze. "I know you'll only be with us for a while, but I'll do my best to help you find a solution."

At Tony's look of surprise, Bruce sighed. "I took an oath when I became a doctor. Even if I'm not actively practicing…I'd like to still do what I can to save people when possible."

Tony closed his eyes. The pain medication was starting to kick in again, and he was starting to feel drowsy. "Promise me that you won't tell anyone else."

Bruce furrowed his brow. "But-"

Tony clasped Bruce's arm. "Please."

Bruce nodded slowly, and patted Tony's hand. "Doctor-patient confidentially states that I don't say anything."

Tony let out a soft sigh. "Thanks doc. I appreciate it. Really...thanks."

Tony heard Bruce hum in acknowledgement as Tony felt his eyes grow heavy. Tony's eyes drooped shut as the soft beeping of the heart monitor lulled him gradually to sleep.

* * *

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Cold seeped into Tony's bones as he felt the dampness of the dark room. The raider ship was empty as Tony carefully navigated through the hallways.

No matter what direction he turned, there was always another corner, another doorway to walk through.

No matter where he went, Tony ended up in the same dark room.

The dripping started to get faster and faster as Tony sprinted left, right and around again. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Tony stopped, out of breath as he collapsed in the middle of the hallway. As he slid to the ground, he felt it.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Dark red stained his hands as Tony looked up.

He screamed.

Tony lurched upwards as the white walls of the medical bay came into focus. Breathing heavily, Tony shakily slid off the cot, wrapping the cotton blanket around him. Tony clutched at the soft blue glow shining through his thin black shirt.

Fingers tapped out a pattern as Tony's breath evened out. He winced as he rubbed at the bandages underneath his shirt. He was healing fairly well all things considered, Bruce said, it would just take a little while longer for Tony's body to fully recuperate.

Tony wrapped the blanket tighter around his frame as he padded barefoot into the hallway. Dim lights lit the floor, as Tony's reactor outlined his path. The comforting thrum of the engine rumbled below as the pounding in Tony's heart slowed down.

Tony headed straight for the cupboard, pulling out a large box of 'Space-Os'. Clint had graciously showed him the stash the week before.

"I'm the only one on the ship that actually likes these things man, so feel free to help yourself. Don't eat it all though, I know where you're staying. If you do...let's just say with my particular set of skills, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Tony snickered. "Did you just try to Liam Neeson me? You didn't do a very good job-"

Clint huffed. "Honestly, I'm just so happy that someone else finally got that reference that I'm not even mad anymore."

Tony grabbed a bowl, pouring out the small rocket shaped cereal. He pulled open the fridge door, frowning at the lack of milk.

"It's over here."

Tony jumped as he slammed the fridge door with a bang. Bucky sat in the corner, milk jug beside him with a steaming mug between his hands.

"Holy fucking Kree on a cracker-you scared the shit outta me."

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare ya like that. I thought you saw me when you wandered in, you looked right at me before heading for the cereal stash."

Tony sighed in relief as he slumped into the chair beside Bucky. "It's alright, that's probably my own fault for not looking around."

A comfortable silence filled the air, as Tony munched on his cereal while Bucky slowly sipped at his drink. Tony glanced at the man beside him. Dark circles rimmed Bucky's eyes as he slumped in his seat. Messy hair, a black shirt and grey sweatpants confirmed that he was sleeping.

Or, not sleeping, Tony supposed. Deciding to take a chance, Tony cleared his throat.

"So, what nightmares kept you up this fine night?"

Bucky stared at Tony in suspicion. "What makes you say that?"

Tony waved his spoon at the milk jug and chocolate bar. "Hot chocolate is a comfort drink. And it's prime sandman time, but not yet the ass-crack-of-dawn. No one willingly chooses to be up this late on purpose, ergo nightmares."

Bucky slow-clapped. "Points for the smartass then. What do ya want, a prize?"

Tony nodded seriously. "Please. I am not just a smartass, but _king_ of the smartasses. I have a crown and everything." Tony poured more milk into his bowl. "Look, I'm not trying to be an asshole, not that I'd really have to try, but I know that sometimes it's easier to talk it out with a stranger."

Bucky's eyes flashed dangerously while Tony held up his hands.

"Fine, fine I get it. I'll listen if you want, but if you don't want to talk, that's fine too. We can just sit here in complete darkness, doing no talking whatsoever."

Tony stuffed another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Sneaking a glance, Tony was amused to see that Bucky somehow managed to look rather impressed and disgruntled at the same time. Bucky shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat.

"How about you? W-were you having nightmares?"

Tony nodded slowly. "Ever since I got off that raiders ship, I-I haven't been able to sleep more than a few hours." He slid his empty bowl away. "I...wasn't alone on that ship. There was this other guy they kidnapped. His name was Yinsen." Tony closed his eyes. "He didn't make it. He died saving my life."

Tony opened his eyes as he felt a warm hand on his, squeezing gently. Bucky gently pulled Tony's hands into his. "I'm-I'm sorry. With everything that happened in that battle with the raiders, I forgot what they did to you before all that-"

Tony squeezed back. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything you know. I'm sorry for trying to pry." Tony gently pulled his hands away, patting Bucky's arm. "Talk when you're ready, that doesn't have to be tonight. I'm here when you want to, and here even when you don't.."

Tony knew for once in his life that he'd said the right thing. Bucky looked at him gratefully, relief clear in his face. "Thanks."

Tony grinned. "Now that we got all that mushy stuff out of the way, wanna show me where Clint hides his Mars bars?"

* * *

"Cheers!"

Tony smiled, watching as Thor enthusiastically sipped the foam off his Xander brew. The crew of the Avenger gathered around the small kitchen table, along with Tony, Thor and Loki. A banner was strung up along the cupboards that read 'CONGRATS ON ESCAPING THE RAIDERS (AND NOT DYING) TONY!' courtesy of Clint.

Natasha passed out plates as Bruce passed around the bowl of rehydrated mashed potatoes. Steve, Bucky and Clint cheered Thor on as he continued to chug the rest of the brew down. Loki eyed his salad suspiciously as he poked it with his fork. To be fair, Tony was suspicious of the bright purple salad himself.

Thor belched loudly as he slammed his metal flask down. Tony winced, but now understood why Natasha had insisted earlier on switching out the usual cutlery for the nicer set. She stared at Tony intently. "It will take a longer to sanitize and clean, but we'll have less to clean up in the long run."

Thor turned to Tony, beaming. "Congrats, my friend, on making it out of medical and defeating those raiders! I am sorry that I had missed seeing the great battle, but I've heard that it was glorious!"

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered once again. Clint turned to face Tony. "How did you even escape anyway? You haven't told us the full story!"

Tony shifted in his chair, tapping his fingers on his chest nervously. In the few weeks since Tony's escape and arrival on the Avenger and his conversation with the Captain, everyone's initial suspicions of him had slowly dissipated.

Tony overheard Steve's whispered conversation with Natasha and Bruce about Tony, how they thought that he was a victim of the slave trade. And as guilty as Tony felt standing in the shadows, he never stepped out to correct them.

And now, with everyone's eyes on him, Tony's mind was racing. He tried to unclench his right hand, tearing the napkin in his lap to shreds, but oh god _-everyone was staring at him and waiting for an answer-_

Bucky snorted beside him. "I thought you already told the story hundreds of times. Weren't you the one who told Thor and Loki that you were the 'best pilot in the galaxy' and that you 'single-handedly' saved us all?"

Bucky winced as Clint glared over the table at him. As Bucky rubbed his shin, Clint stared sheepishly up at Steve and Natasha. "To be fair, I totally am the best pilot in the galaxy. You've both said it yourselves!"

As Steve, Natasha and Clint squabbled in the background, Tony let out a sigh of relief. Nudging Bucky lightly, Tony gave him a grateful glance. "Thanks for that. I wasn't really ready-"

Bucky smiled softly, sipping his flask. "Don't worry bout it. Clint shouldn't push ya when you're still clearly uncomfortable talking bout it, especially when you're still healing."

Tony snorted. "According to Bruce, I'm almost as good as new. Well, as good as someone with a giant glowing nightlight in his chest."

Bucky's lips twitched. "Well, Bruce will probably still fuss over ya until all the bandages are off." Bucky's eyes flicked to Tony's chest, before meeting Tony's eyes straight on. "You don't have to, but if ya ever need to talk…"

Tony nodded. "I'll let you know. Thanks Bucky."

Tony felt the tension in his body disappear as Bucky turned back to his plate with a satisfied grin. Tony stabbed at the suspicious grey mound on his plate. "What is that supposed to be anyways?"

Bucky picked up his knife and poked at it. "I don't actually know. We salvaged a bunch of these off some abandoned merchant ship, but the cans didn't have labels on them, so it's a surprise to us as well. Here, try some and tell me."

Bucky scooped some with his spoon holding it out to Tony. Tony wrinkled his face. "You try it and tell me if it's safe. Why am I testing it?"

Bucky nudged the spoon towards Tony's mouth with a grin. "Because Bruce's orders said that you needed to gain some weight. Besides, Thor wolfed down a whole pile of it earlier and he's fine."

Tony gave Bucky a withering stare. "Thor just drank five entire flasks of Xanderian brew without breaking a sweat. That man has the stomach of a god, unlike the rest of us mortals."

Bucky leaned on his metal arm, holding out the spoon with a cheshire grin. "Come on, for me? I promise I'll try some if you do."

Tony felt his cheeks turn a bright red as he reluctantly opened his mouth. Bucky's eyes lit up as he slid the spoon into Tony's mouth. Tony chewed, the savory flavour surprisingly pleasant on his tongue. "Huh. It actually kinda tastes like barbeque chicken."

Tony licked his lips and could see Bucky's eyes focusing intently. "You've got some sauce on the side of your mouth."

Tony licked his lips again. "Gone?"

Bucky shook his head, reaching his thumb out to rub the side of Tony's mouth. "There" Bucky whispered, biting his lip. Tony could feel the heat of Bucky's stare as they slowly inched closer.

Thor's cry of victory startled them, and Tony quickly turned back to his plate, muttering a thank you. Bucky swivelled to stare across the ship as Thor slammed his empty flask onto the table once more. Clint cursed as he stared mournfully into his half-filled flask, peeking down into Thor's empty flask disbelievingly. "Are you two really Shepherds? How the hell did you learn how to drink like _that_?"

Thor's booming laughter filled the ship, and he slapped Clint in the side. "How do you think the Order survives as it does, my friend? Many monasteries grow and craft their own brews on site in order to sell to the locals." Thor's eyes twinkled as Clint rubbed his arm.

"While Xanderian brew is quite delightful, there is nothing quite like Asgardian brew. You must sample some once we arrive! I am certain you will find it even more pleasing than your beloved Hera Sunrises."

As Bucky jumped into the heated debate, Tony stabbed into his potatoes more forcefully, ignoring the knowing stare that Natasha was drilling into the side of his head.

* * *

"I think you might've destroyed Clint."

Tony popped his head from underneath the large pipe, turning off the headlamp as he blinked up at Bucky. Bucky's fingers twitched, tempted to run his fingers through that soft, brown hair…

Bucky was totally and utterly fucked.

Grease stains were smudged all along his face as Tony's hair stuck up in all directions. No one should look that good ever, Bucky thought desperately, as Tony stood up and stretched the kink out of his neck. His clothes were wrinkled and well worn, but not even Bucky had looked that good wearing them, and they were his clothes.

Fuck.

Bucky only barely bit back a moan as tan skin peeked out from under Tony's shirt. Tony raised his arms above his head, eyes closed, letting out a contented groan. Bucky shifted uncomfortable as Tony sighed in contentment, staring up at Bucky in amusement.

"What do you mean?"

Bucky cleared his throat, desperately trying to keep his eyes on Tony's face. "Clint was seriously swooning earlier after you upgraded the thrusters."

Tony grinned, twirling the wrench in his prosthetic hand before sliding back into his toolbelt. "Believe me, it was helping me as much as it helped him. Seeing this lovely ship at the verge of falling apart made me want to cry, so I'm doing myself a favour really."

Bucky snorted in disbelief. "Clint was hugging the engine as he crooned to 'his precious baby' about how the ship's never flown this well even when we first bought her."

Tony unclipped his toolbelt as he took a swig from his flask. Bucky swore that Tony was tormenting him on purpose as he could see the sweat gleaming on Tony's throat. Swiping his sleeve across his lips, Tony smirked.

"What can I say, I'm a genius."

Bucky stared at Tony warily. "I'd normally say that you're full of it, but in this case, I'd honestly believe it."

Tony's eyes glinted. "And my ego thanks you for it. Now, come on, we've got some more repairs to do!"

Tony gently grabbed onto Bucky's metal arm as he pulled him to the 'workshop'. Originally a storage room, Steve had agreed to empty it out to let Tony use it as a makeshift workshop. Even more so once Tony had started to work on Bucky's arm.

"It's painful isn't it?" Tony had asked gently, the first time Tony leaned in to examine Bucky's metal arm. Steve had squawked when he realized that Bucky had been in pain for a while.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve scolded, as Tony gently worked the side panel open.

"Because I knew ya'd make a big deal out of it. 'Sides, we wouldn't have had the credits to go see a specialist" Bucky replied.

Tony meticulously prodded at the wiring. "This might hurt a bit, but I think I can get it to stop constantly hurting you in the elbow."

Bucky nodded, tensing in anticipation of the pain. After a few moments though, Tony smiled as he pulled out a loose contact. "There! That should do it!"

Bucky slowly let out a breath the constant pain that Bucky was used to, was suddenly gone. Bucky sagged in his seat in disbelief. "It's gone. It's really gone."

After Bucky lost his arm, not even the Alliance doctors could take the pain away. Bucky was used to the constant dull hum of pain and always shrugged it off, no matter how many worried looks Steve gave him over the years.

Bucky felt Steve squeeze his other hand in a question. "Buck?"

Tears formed in Bucky's eyes as he nodded fiercely, squeezing Steve's hand just as tight. Steve let out a strangled sob as he pulled Tony into an all encompassing hug.

Bucky let out a watery laugh as tiny Tony was all but hidden under Steve's bulky frame, hands twitching before patting Steve's back awkwardly.

Tony nodded and hummed through Steve's onslaught of thanks and appreciation. "It's no problemo Cap, I told you I worked in prosthetics before, remember? It's not completely fixed, actually there's a lot of work left and maintenance to do. I can do it, but I'm going to need a few things…"

Steve himself carried everything that Tony needed into his makeshift workshop, and for the past few weeks, Bucky has been sitting with Tony an hour a day for repairs. "Spacing it out minimizes the pain. It's also pretty delicate work, so it's better when done in smaller time chunks."

And so, Bucky would wander in every afternoon to sit in the chair while Tony laie out all the tools he needed. Bucky loved watching Tony work. He would always get so lost and fully consumed in his work, and Bucky loved seeing Tony mumble to himself about the next upgrade.

Even this afternoon, Tony was hard at work, arm gleaming in the bright lights as he grasped Bucky's hand in his. Squeezing gently Bucky's hand gently, Tony missed Bucky's flushed cheeks as he started down at the wiring.

Bucky knew that it sounded ridiculous, but he swore that Tony's prosthetic hand felt warm against his. Before Tony, no one had ever really willingly went out to touch Bucky's metal arm. The rest of the crew accepted him, of that, Bucky had no doubt. But, no one ever really told him that they loved it like Tony did.

How could Bucky _not_ melt when Tony looked up at him like that. Those large doe eyes stared up at him while Tony told him, sincerely, how much he loved getting to take a look at Bucky's arm.

For the most part, Bucky was able to pointedly ignore the snickers and pointed looks they would get when Bucky would agree to anything Tony asked, when he would've flat-out refused anyone else.

And to Bucky's embarrassment, everyone had decided to stop being subtle about it.

After a shower, Bucky narrowed his eyes when he returned to his room only to find pamphlets about romantic Kree couple mud baths sitting on his bed.

(It'll be romantic! Clint shrieked. You and Nat go for it then! Bucky scowled, as he crumpled the leaflet before launching it back at Clint's head.)

Bucky definitely did not scream when Natasha surprised him around the corner. He gawked as she silently started to pile clothes into his arms. They were apparently pieces of a new outfit that she deemed 'date appropriate' and a set of riding boots and gloves.

On the top of the pile, she left a coupon for griffin riding on Xander before patting Bucky's cheek and disappearing. Visions of feathers everywhere and screeching had Bucky dropping the pile and aggressively tearing up the coupon into small shreds.

(He did go back to pick up the clothes though. First, Bucky was not a slob. And second, he didn't want to die in his sleep thank you very much.)

Even Bruce had somehow got roped into the matchmaking madness. Bucky was sitting at the kitchen table finishing his cereal, when Bruce just happened to leave a guidebook beside Bucky. When Bucky pointed it out to the doctor, Bruce just smiled and said to 'make good use out of it'.

Bucky shrugged. He flipped through the lightly worn book, choking as he found the highlighted sections. 'Couple retreat and meditation' was helpfully underlined, and Bruce even went so far in writing in the margins.

'A great way to get to know someone. Although, now that I think about it, maybe wait until a few dates before doing this. Maybe ten.'

So really, Bucky should've known that sooner or later, even the most oblivious one of them all would've eventually shoved his nose into Bucky's business.

As Tony chattered away, Bucky sat there sweating, mentally yelling at himself to just _fucking do it already_ _Barnes._ Tony paused mid-rant, placing a gentle arm on Bucky's shoulder. "I'm sorry, is something hurting you? You look like you're in pain!"

Bucky looked into Tony's eyes in despair. _You have no idea._

Bucky sighed in relief as Steve's voice rang out over the intercom.

"Alright folks, we're about a day away from Persephone, which is a great place for us to re-fuel. We'll probably reach early morning, so after our customs checks, we'll drop the ship into the fueling dock."

Bucky waited for the intercom to cut out, but Steve cleared his throat. Tony frowned beside him. "Is there something else?

Bucky narrowed his eyes. _What is he up to?_

The hair on the back of Bucky's neck stood up, and Bucky could practically hear the warning bells blaring in his mind from the grin in Steve's voice. "Normally I'd give you all the day off, but we're getting low on supplies so I'd like to divide it up so we all get a bit of time off."

Bucky still wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to kill or hug Steve.

"So how about we have Clint and Natasha get the food, Me an' Bruce will get the medical supplies, and Tony and Bucky can get the spare parts for the ship? We'll all meet back on the ship in the evening before sunset."

Right before the intercom cut off, Clint's protest could be clearly heard in the background.

"DAMMIT STEVE! BUCKY AND TONY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING FOR ROMANTIC MASSAGES, NOT A SUPPLY RUN!"

The intercom cut out sharply as Bucky froze. He only moved when Tony chuckled beside him. "I was wondering when Steve was gonna make his attempt."

Bucky's eyes snapped over to Tony. "You knew?"

Tony closed the panel before sliding back on his stool. "Clint isn't exactly subtle, and Natasha is pretty terrifying, so I figured it out."

Tony looked up at Bucky with a guarded look, hopeful uncertainty reflected back. "So, whaddaya say buttercup, want to paint the town red?"

Bucky felt like dancing on air. Tony wasn't running away screaming for the hills and actually looked interested in dating him, Bucky. It was almost too good to be true, and Bucky wanted to pinch himself and make sure this wasn't a dream.

Bucky couldn't hold back the bubbling excitement, as he tried and failed to give Tony a stern look. "And you call me the old-timer?"

Tony visibly relaxed, his smile filling the entire room. "Well someone has to consider your old-timer sensibilities. I'm just being considerate."

Tony brightened. "There's this amazing store we _have_ to go to! It has all the best deals and..."

Okay, so maybe he'd have to thank Steve, Bucky thought reluctantly, as Tony continued to wave his hands around.

But never in front of Clint and Nat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

Tony glanced over his shoulder as he pulled his hood over his head. The neon sign flashed a bright red as Tony pushed open the door to _Rumlow's Computer Cafe_. Thankfully, it was almost empty, still early before the morning rush.

Tony had managed to sneak away while Bucky was helping Steve and Natasha go through their customs inspection. _I'm sorry doll, but this'll take a few hours. Why don't you go explore, and I'll meet you around noon?_

Tony slid past the group of giggling high school students and into the corner. The man at the counter glared at him. Tony reluctantly went to the counter as his console booted up.

"Just a soda please."

The man stared at Tony, giving him a dirty look as he pushed soda across the counter. Tony muttered a thanks, throwing a few coins onto the counter as he shuffled back to his console.

Not too long after that, Tony's fingers flew across the keyboard, the secure Stark Industries servers flashing across the screen. Tony cursed as Rhodey didn't pick up his call.

Peeking around the cafe, Tony discreetly scratched his ear, whispering into his right arm. "J, can you activate the speech jammer please?"

A slight vibration pulsed in affirmation, and Tony heard a soft click. Tony turned on the webcam and hit record. "Rhodeybear, it's me. Hopefully you or Pepper will be able to find this...I'm okay, but I need you to listen closely…"

* * *

Bucky glowered at the paperwork in front of him. The sun was rising even higher in the sky and Bucky jabbed the pen into the paper as he continued to scribble and fill out the boxes.

Bucky jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Steve stared back, apologetic. "I'm sorry 'bout this Buck. I think they'll actually be done soon, so why don't you get going and I'll finish this up."

Bucky blinked, shaking his head. "I can't leave you all alone to finish this"

Steve carefully pried the pen out of Bucky's tight grip. "I can and I will. They've already cleared our shipment of wine, so it's just a bit left."

Steve's eyes twinkled, his voice lowering in fond exasperation. "Besides, it'll probably go faster once you've left. You're scaring them with your resting murder-face."

Bucky blinked, looking over at the inspection officers. To Bucky astonishment, and Steve's poorly restrained laughter, one of them squeaked as Bucky looked over, quickly hiding behind the stack of barrels.

"Okay, I admit I'm a bit _annoyed_ -"

Steve snorted. "A _bit_ he says-"

Bucky threw the clipboard at Steve, who merely swiped it out of the air with a flourish. Bucky shook his head. "Thanks man." Steve nodded before waving Bucky off.

Bucky rushed off the dock, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to de-tangle what he could. Bucky brightened as he slowed down, eyes locked onto his target.

Tony was leaning against the side of the building, hands stuffed in his hoodie. His eyes were closed he basked in the warm sun, staring up into the cloudless sky. Bucky stopped in front of Tony, slightly out of breath.

"Hey! Sorry that took so long!"

Bucky could feel the blood rushing to his ears as Tony beamed up at him. "Don't worry about it! I was able to haggle for some of the parts we needed as well! Here, take a look-"

Bucky tugged Tony into his side as they walked along the sidewalk. Tony faltered for a second, but then leaned into Bucky's jacket with a smile. Bucky tucked Tony's head under his chin as he lead them to the restaurant.

 _The Wasp's Nest_ was a small place, but Bucky always thought that Jan made the best burgers around.

"Whaddaya say to cheeseburgers? Jan makes the best burgers on this side of the galaxy."

Tony's smile was brilliant. "I can never say no to a good burger."

Bucky and Tony laughed as they pushed the door open into the diner. Jan's squeals could be heard from down the street as she gushed at the 'adorable picture these two make' before dragging them inside.

Across the street, Clint and Natasha sprung out from behind the magazine stand. Clint snickered into his dripping ice-cream cone as he brushed the dirt off his pants. "Those two are so adorable, it's sickening."

Natasha hummed as she scooped into her sundae. "I'm glad that the two of them are happy." She scraped the bottom of her cup as a flash of green passed by her peripheral. Turning, she quickly tugged on Clint's sleeve.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted vanilla, I'm not sharing mine-"

"No, look."

Clint squinted as he held his hand above his eyes, blocking out the sun. "Is that Loki?"

"I think so. But what is he doing here?"

Loki pushed himself off the bench. He threw one last glance at the laughing couple in _The Wasp's Nest_ before wandering down the street.

Natasha pulled Clint into the nearby alleyway as they watched Loki pass by.

"Strange, I didn't think he was invested like the rest of us in whether those two got together."

Natasha narrowed her eyes in contemplation. "I'm not sure if he is. We should keep an eye on him."

Clint nodded, grabbing Natasha's sleeve to wipe his face. He cackled as he ducked out of the way of her swing, ducking back into the main street. Natasha glanced back, Loki long gone, before heading back to hunt down her husband.

* * *

"...I can't believe you ate four burgers, fries and a milkshake. I love cheeseburgers, but not even I can eat that much. Are you and Steve secretly borgs or something? No regular human being should be able to stuff that much away and have abs like yours."

Bucky laughed before leering down at Tony. "Did you just admire my abs? You'll hear no complaints from me, I'm pretty proud of them. We've always were able to eat that much, since me 'n Steve joined the army. After leavin' the Alliance army though, we couldn't afford to eat like we did before."

The kitchen was dimly lit as Tony and Bucky sat at the table. Tony yawned before sipping at his coffee. "Did you enjoy the soldier life? Why give it up for piracy?"

Bucky smiled sadly, tapping at his metal arm. "After losing the arm, even with the prosthetic, I just...couldn't do it anymore. I used to at least like it, helping people and runnin' missions. But after my arm was gone...nothing really felt right after that."

Bucky stirred his spoon slowly. "Not long after, Steve decided to join me. I was really mad at him for a while; he was still fine and healthy, and they were gonna make him Captain and everything. But, Steve just looked at me and called me an idiot."

Tony laughed softly. "That sounds like something he'd say."

Bucky snorted fondly. "Yeah, that punk decided that it wasn't the same, him bein' in the army without me. I wanna see the galaxy Buck, let's take this chance and finally do it. So we scrounged together what money we had left, bought this hunk of junk, and the rest is history."

Tony raised his mug. "You became space pirates."

Bucky chuckled, licking his lips. "Steve would probably correct you to 'space cowboys', he makes it a policy not to steal from the less fortunate."

Tony's eyes flicked down to Bucky's lips. "So you're Robin Hood and his band of merry men?"

Bucky leaned in closer. "Nothing that charitable. Just enough to get by and keep flyin'..."

Bucky was close. So close that Tony could feel his breath tingling on his neck. Tony could feel the heat build, the warm feeling of anticipation dancing on his skin. Tony tilted his head, eyes lidded. Bucky's lips parted as he bent down…

Tony slid his hands onto Bucky's shoulders, holding him back gently. "Not that I don't want this, because I do so so badly, but...we need to talk."

Bucky huffed, leaning his head on Tony's shoulder. "Well that doesn't sound promising."

Tony sighed shaky. He twisted his hands, clutching them to his chest. "It's...important. Before anything happens with us, I need to tell you something important, about me."

Bucky could feel Tony shaking. _He's terrified_.

Bucky drew Tony closer, sweeping a hand through Tony's hair. "Tell me doll. You don't have to be afraid."

Tony shuddered as he clutched at his right arm. "I-"

Red lights started flashing, and alarms were blaring as the emergency lights started to kick in. Steve's voice crackled over the intercom. "Looks like some Alliance ships hailing us to board. They've surrounded us, so it looks like we've got no choice but to accept the inspection. Everyone to their positions. Buck, I'm gonna need you in the bridge."

Bucky cursed as he looked down at Tony. "I'm sorry darlin-"

Tony shook his head, nudging Bucky towards the door. It was hard to tell in the red light, but Bucky was sure that Tony looked even paler than before.

"You sure you're alright?"

Bucky could tell that Tony was forcing a bright smile on his face. "I'll be fine buttercup, don't worry about me. Go see what our good captain needs."

Bucky furrowed his brow, but started to sprint after Tony pushed him out the door. Bucky clambered up the steps as he threw open the doors to the bridge. "What's happening?"

Steve stood behind Clint, arms crossed as Clint jabbed angrily at the controls. "A 'surprise' inspection apparently."

Bucky cursed staring out the window. The Alliance crest gleamed back at him as a fleet of five ships slowly drifted closer. "The barrels?"

"Secured. Nat's double checking everything now. Hopefully Maria's paperwork will hold up. I have a bad feeling about this though..."

Bucky looked out the window. "You noticed that huh?"

Clint looked up in surprise. "What? What are you talking about?"

Bucky nodded his head towards the window. "Normal 'surprise' inspections would only need one of these ships, not five. They're looking for something."

"Yeah. I hoped that I was being paranoid, but…"

Natasha's voice cut in through the speakers. "Our shipment is secured. Tony, Loki and Thor are in their rooms. Where do you want the rest of us?"

Steve pressed the speaker. "The rest of us will meet in the cargo hold."

Clint motioned to Steve. "They're requesting to board now."

Steve closed his eyes. "Let them on. Let's get this over with."

* * *

The cargo hold doors slid open as a swarm of soldiers filtered on. Steve, Bucky, Natasha, Bruce and Clint were quickly surrounded. Arms raised in the air, Steve stepped forward.

"What's going on here?"

"Just an inspection Captain Rogers. If everything is above board, your merry little crew will be free to scutter away again."

Steve inhaled sharply, lips tightening as the admiral stepped forward. "Admiral Shmidt."

The admiral's lips curled. "I'm honoured. Look boys, the man-with-the-plan, Captain Rogers, remembers little 'ol me."

The admiral sneered as he looked around the cargo hold. "But it seems that even the mighty fall. How...quaint."

Bucky grabbed onto Steve's arm, squeezing tightly in warning, before shaking his head. The admiral laughed.

"Oh this will be fun. Search the ship! Leave nothing unturned!"

The soldiers fanned out, forcing open crates and panels. Bucky winced as they heard a thud. Steve glared stiffly.

"I don't care if you still have a grudge against me admiral. But don't hold it against my crew. We've got nothing to hide, and you're just wasting your time looking."

The admiral raised an eyebrow. "Oh I beg to differ. You see, we received some lovely intel that told us that a certain Avenger ship was smuggling some very illegal cargo."

Bucky schooled his face, forcing himself not to peek over at the barrels sitting in the corner. The admiral looked disappointed when no one reacted, and Steve raised an eyebrow. "Well I'm not sure where you get your intel these days, but you might want to get your sources checked out."

"ADMIRAL! We've found something!"

Bucky could barely make out Clint's harsh whisper. "What are they talking about? They haven't even touched the barrels yet?"

A strangled cry interrupted them as Tony was dragged into the hold, hands bound together tightly. Bucky lurched forward, but was held back as the soldiers encircling them raised their blasters.

"Tony!"

"My, my, what do we have here? I take back what I said earlier, you don't just break small laws, you go for the big ones." Tony struggled as he was thrown to the floor in front of the admiral.

Shmidt knelt down, one finger lifting Tony's chin. "Tony Stark, in the flesh. We've been looking for you for a long time. This day turned out much better than I ever would've anticipated! Did you know they increased the bounty on your head after that mess you left on Hera? Looks like I'll be one-hundred million credits richer."

Bucky felt the world spin as the admiral pulled out a crumpled wanted poster from his jacket, holding it up to Tony's face. When held up side-by-side, there was no doubt that it was Tony.

"Perfect match. I'm impressed that shaving off that goatee changes your appearance that much. Oh well, you'll have plenty of time to grow it back in your prison cell."

The admiral straightened as he pulled Tony alongside him to face Steve. "Well Captain Rogers, I have to say I'm disappointed in you. I thought you'd give me more a challenge. Your complacency has caused your downfall."

The admiral waved at the soldiers. "Grab them and we'll get going. Throw them in a separate cell."

Protests rang out throughout the hold as the soldiers moved to grab the members of the Avenger. Tony lifted his head and yelled.

"STOP! Leave them out of this! They did nothing wrong! They don't know anything!"

The admiral snorted. "And why should I care? Not only do I get Tony Stark, but also precious Captain Rogers and his men. Tell me why exactly why I should 'let them go'?"

Tony straightened, eyes narrowing in fury. "Because I'll come with you quietly. If you let them go, I won't try to escape. You've seen what I did to the three other Alliance ships that captured me back near Hera. They're all floating debris now."

Tony lifted his head, eyes meeting the admiral straight on. "Let them go, and I won't attempt any escapes. Just...let them go and I'll come quietly."

The admiral stared at Tony in silence before smirking. "I guess this'll be less paperwork for me anyways. Fine Stark, if you resist at all, I'll send a fleet to apprehend lock this ship down and drag it all the way to base. Let's roll out boys, we have a reward to claim!"

The soldiers cheered as they started to filter out of the ship. Tony was hauled to his feet and dragged past Clint and Natasha. Tony stumbled, and Bucky lurched forward to catch him.

Tony stared up at Bucky imploringly as he clutched at Bucky's jacket. Bucky stared down at Tony, eyes burning as he held Tony up in his arms, fingers digging into Tony's side. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen- I wanted to tell you-"

Bucky clutched at air as Tony was violently yanked away. Flanked by a soldier on each side, Tony was marched out of the cargo hold into the airlock. The rest of the soldiers backed away, blasters aimed at the Avenger crew as the doors started to close.

The admiral smirked as he saluted Steve with two fingers. "Well this was fun, let's do this again sometime shall we? Next time, I won't be so lenient. Ta-ta for now!"

Bucky stood there, a cold numbness sweeping through him, as the cargo doors slid shut with a bang.


	6. Chapter 6

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

The tension in the air was thrumming, thick and stifling as no one dared to move. The Avenger crew stood deathly still as they turned slowly to look at their second in command.

Bucky was frozen, unmoving as his fingers grasped at the air, eyes still glued to the closed cargo doors.

Steve, Clint, Nat and Bruce could only watch with baited breath as Bucky collapsed to his knees. Bucky slumped forward and his hair curtained his face as he punched the ground.

The spell was broken and Steve slowly approached, cautiously placing his hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Buck-"

Clint cursed clenching his fist. "I can't believe it! I _knew_ there was something fishy about that guy-"

"I'm honestly surprised it took you that long to figure it out."

Everyone's heads swiveled at the sound of Loki's voice, sharp and smooth. "His face was plastered all over the bounty boards, it wasn't hard to piece together."

Clint let out a harsh exhale. "That day on Persephone. You _were_ following Tony and Bucky. Wait...you were the one who called the Alliance!"

Thor stepped forward. "Now wait a moment-"

Bucky slowly got to his feet, face still covered by his hair. "You- you did this?"

Loki slowly took a step back as Bucky rose up. "Now you listen here, I didn't-"

Bucky let out a war cry as he tackled Loki to the ground, wildly swinging as he pummeled Loki into the ground. Large hands grabbed onto the back of Bucky's shirt and Bucky felt arms wrap around him as they pulled him back.

Steve hugged him tightly as Bucky collapsed into the ground again. Loki coughed, teeth a bright red as Thor hauled him to his feet.

Loki scowled as he wiped his teeth on his sleeve. "You fool! If you had let me finish, I would've told you that I might have known about Stark's bounty, but I never called the Alliance!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and why not? A million credits would have been life changing for a shepherd."

Loki scoffed. "Believe me, if it was money I was after I would not have chosen to become a _shepherd._ "

Clint cut in. "And why should we believe you?"

Thor stepped forward this time, glancing at Loki before turning back to Clint. "Believe me my friends, the Alliance is the last group whom Loki would want to call. Their attention is the last thing we'd need."

Steve furrowed his brow, crossing his arms. "Okay, so why follow Bucky and Tony then? What were your intentions there, if not to cash in the reward?"

Loki stared mutinously as Steve as he stared to look at Thor. Thor sighed. "That..was my doing actually."

Clint blinked. "What?"

Thor reached behind him, pulling his bright red cloak off his back. "This cloak was a commission from long ago from the Van Dyne family, the quality one of the finest in the galaxy. I had requested Loki to seek out Lady Janet at _The Wasp's Nest_ to pick up a cloak for our father."

Bruce sucked in a harsh breath. "A funeral cloak."

Thor closed his eyes. "Aye doctor, our father had passed and Loki and I were returning to Asgard with a lovely Van Dyne cloak for the funeral."

Loki stared balefully at Clint. "When you saw me sitting on the bench, I had already went inside and left."

Bucky swallowed, the fight leaving him entirely as he slumped. "I'm sorry."

Loki sniffed. "I suppose it's fine...all things considered."

Natasha locked eyes with Loki. "So that still doesn't explain why you wouldn't call the Alliance."

Bruce chimed in. "They aren't really shepherds."

Bruce stared at Thor in contemplation. "You have a Van Dyne cloak, which is by no means cheap, and went to ask for one for your father. You and your family must be rather rich; Loki didn't even seem to care that the reward was millions of credits."

Bruce scratched his chin. "If you really cared about giving up all of your possessions as the order usually decrees, you would have given up all your prized worldly possessions, including your cloak. So who are you really?"

Loki snorted. "I'm impressed Dr. Banner. There's no use hiding it anymore is there?"

Loki swept down into a bow. "I am Loki, son of Odin. My brother is Thor, the crown prince of Asgard, and soon to be king."

Clint's jaw dropped as he pointed at Thor. "You're saying that you and _you_ are princes of Asgard."

Thor nodded. "Correct."

Clint continued, waving his flailing arms around. "Fuck. First he gets the glorious blond flowing hair, and now he's a _goddamn prince_."

"King." Natasha cut in, lips twitching. "He's going to be king. Which is why you both are avoiding the Alliance."

"Aye. It's well known that Asgard has had a..rough relationship with the Alliance. Politics would interfere and it would take months before myself and Loki would be allowed to return to Asgard-"

"And your father's funeral would be long over."

Thor sighed. "Indeed. While they would probably wait until we returned-"

Bruce exhaled. "Life would be stuck on pause for everyone until the king was buried."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

Steve furrowed his brow. "So if it wasn't either of you, then who-"

"It doesn't matter right now." Bucky slipped his hand into jacket pocket. "Tony slipped me this right before he got taken." A slim holodrive sat in the middle of Bucky's palm. "I'm going to find out what he risked his life for in leaving with me."

* * *

Everyone gathered around the table in the conference room. It was hardly ever used as a conference room; the room was too small to comfortably fit everyone, and was normally used for extra storage and what Clint deemed 'target practice'.

Bucky grabbed the holodrive from his pocket, plugging it into the console panel. A bright blue light engulfed the room, as Bucky sucked in a sharp breath. Tony projected above the table as he stared into the camera.

"JARVIS? You sure we're recording?"

Bucky startled as a smooth British voice responded from Tony's _right arm._

"Yes sir, everything is good to go. The others are heading to dinner now, so you have an estimated fifteen minutes before Mr. Barnes will likely come searching for you."

Tony took a deep breath before staring straight into the camera.

"Okay. If you're seeing this, then I'm likely either captured or dead. Hopefully, this is Bucky watching this, or at least one of the crew members on the Avenger. I know you're all angry at me, but please, _please_ at least hear me out before you rip this out and shoot it to shreds."

Tony let out a sigh before staring at the camera, eyes wild and desperate.

"My name is Tony, but my full name is Anthony Edward Stark. My father was Howard Stark, owner and founder of Stark Industries, the primary weapons provider for the Alliance."

Bucky couldn't tear his eyes from the screen, but he could hear the sharp exhale around the room.

"Stark Industries was moving up, and everyone wanted a piece of the Howard Stark. With being the big-damn-hero of the Alliance, business was booming and contracts were being offered left and right."

Bucky's heart was pounding so hard he could hardly breathe. Tony paused, considering his words carefully before he continued.

"So when the HYDRA corporation starts knocking, who wouldn't go starry-eyed? The board of directors started salivating and with good reason - the contract would secure SI for decades to come."

Tony's lips turned up in a wry smile. "And as much as people hated him, Howard was one of the best in the industry. He could spot an offer too good to be true when he saw it. He turned down the offer, and managed to convince the majority of the board that it wasn't in SI's best interest."

Tony's eyes were glassy as he stared off into the distance. "Howard's instincts are hardly ever wrong, and that was proved true a few days later."

Images and video flashed across the screen from a handheld phone, and as JARVIS' bracer came into view, it was no doubt to Bucky that it Tony was the one filming. Documents detailing guard rotations and research schedules of somewhere named 'The Academy' flashed by.

 _Fuck._

Bucky could feel the bile rising in his throat as the images blurred by, outlining each child, each with their own 'subject number'. Ongoing 'treatments' were outlined in black and white, and the details only made Bucky turn green. Bucky could distantly hear the sounds of Clint dry heaving into a bucket.

Tony's voice cleared, before explaining the documents popping up on the screen. "They call it 'The Academy'. Supposedly, they're a school meant to 'nurture the academically and intellectually gifted', but as you can see, it's much less nurturing and much more fucking horrifying. Most never survive the experimentation, and those who do are trained up for their WINTER SOLDIER program."

The tension in the room was dizzying, and Bucky could hardly breathe as Steve collapsed into the chair on his other side.

"A friend of mine had his sister taken away. She was 14 when she was 'accepted' into the program, and it took a few years before she was able to get a coded message out to him. It took months of planning and smuggling funds, but we managed to find the facility, and break her out."

Tony paused for a moment. Everyone could see Tony freeze as sharp knocks rang out on his door. Bucky's mouth dried up as he heard his own voice through the door.

"Tony, dinner's ready!"

"I'll be there in a bit Buckaroo!"

Footsteps faded away as Tony visibly slumped in his chair. He closed his eyes before taking a deep breath, facing the camera again.

"With the footage from the facility, I managed to interrupt a meeting with Howard and my Aunt Peggy, an agent on the force, and showed them what I found."

Tony's fists clenched as he peered directly into the camera. Bucky swallowed as he stared straight into Tony's eyes, cold and furious. "When we made the rescue, we took footage of the labs. But in order to take down HYDRA without any doubt, we needed more proof. The documents you see here are were obtained during additional meetings that Howard arranged with the HYDRA board, so I could sneak in and get those files."

Tony's eyes glazed over. "We didn't know it at the time, but someone inside SI must've been working for HYDRA. They knew that we were coming for them...and Howard paid the price. He was found killed a week later."

Bucky felt a hand on his shoulder. Nat nudged his hands and Bucky looked down in surprise; he didn't realize that he was gripping the armrests so hard, his left hand was turning red.

"I took what I had left and went to Aunt Peggy. Just as we were looking over the files, they announced the warrant for my arrest. Aunt Peggy shoved me on an escape pod, and I've been on the run ever since."

Tony stared at the camera. "I know that I lied to you all, and I'm sorry about that. But, I-I just couldn't take the risk. I didn't want to get you all in trouble in case I got caught-"

Tony blinked back tears. Bucky had the overwhelming urge to reach out and wipe them away. "But if you're seeing this, then I must have. Gotten caught I mean."

Tony looked dead center into the lens. "I know that you've done so much for me, and I know that I shouldn't ask this of any of you...but I'm begging you, please. Take this information to Colonel James Rhodes. He'll know who pass this info onto to get it into the right hands."

A knock on the door in the projection, as Bucky' voice rang out from the hallway. "Hey Tony-" Tony scrambled up as the recording cut out.

A stunned silence filled the air. Bucky's gaze was still locked onto Tony's frozen face as the projection started to loop again.

"JARVIS? You sure we're recording?"

Steve leaned forward and gently unplugged the holodrive from the panel. "That was-"

"Awful." Bruce added. His face was tinted green as he closed his eyes.

Clint leaned forward. "So what's the rescue plan then? We should come up with something soon if we're going to catch up to those Alliance ships."

Nat interjected. "The first priority should be the holodrive. Tony risked his life so the Alliance wouldn't get their hands on it. We need to find Colonel Rhodes."

Bucky stood up, seething. "What about Tony? If we leave him, they'll just cart him off-"

Nat steeled herself, voice firm as she looked at Bucky directly. "How do you think Tony would feel if we went back for him but lost the holodrive? We'll find Rhodes, then go after Tony-"

Bucky could feel his face turning red as he simmered in anger. "So we just leave him to die?"

Bruce cautiously interjected. "They wouldn't try to kill him right away. He knows too much and the case is too public. We'll have enough time to find Rhodes and then make a plan to get Tony back."

Bucky's eyes swivelled over to Steve. "Come on! If we leave right now-"

"What'll happen exactly? We can't take on an entire Alliance fleet on our own, not without help. I hate to say it but Nat and Bruce are right. We're going to find Colonel Rhodes and get him the holodrive. After that, we can go back-"

"By the time we do, HE'LL ALREADY BE DEAD!"

"Buck-"

Bucky shrugged off Steve's arm, eyes blurring as his voice cracked. "He sacrificed himself to save us. To make sure that we got away. And what did we do? We just left him to _die_."

Bucky grabbed the holodrive and shoved it into Steve's chest before storming out. Steve moved to follow, but Natasha just grabbed onto his arm, shaking her head.

"Let him go…just give him some time."

Steve slumped as he stared down at holodrive in his hand.

 _Bucky...Tony…I'm sorry._


	7. Chapter 7

**Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)**

 **Chapter Seven**

* * *

Bucky growled in frustration as he sat up in his bunk, fingers scratching at his head as he tossed his blanket off before sliding off his cot. Every time Bucky closed his eyes, all he could see was Tony's face as he was dragged off, smiling at Bucky sadly before the doors slammed shut.

The kitchen was empty as Bucky sat at the table, pouring milk over Clint's cereal as he stared into the bowl.

"This seat taken?"

Bucky shrugged towards the seat beside him. Steve slid beside him. Steve clasped his hands together, sighing as he stared up at Bucky in anguish. Before he could say anything, Bucky raised his hand.

"Look ya don't have to apologize...I get it."

Steve blinked. "You do?"

Bucky set his spoon down. "I know in the end that it's the right thing to do, and Tony would probably skin us alive if we went back for him first-"

"But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt any less."

Bucky exhales. "You know, I was always jealous of Clint and Nat. After I lost my arm, I never really saw that kind of future for myself. Every time I looked at it, it reminded me of everything I'd lost. But, Tony…"

Bucky smiled wistfully as Steve gave his arm a squeeze. "Tony looked at my arm like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Like it was something special and wonderful…that _I_ was something and wonderful. But, I was too scared, and he thinks I _hate him,_ and now he'll never know- he'll never know that I-"

Steve tugged him into his chest, and Bucky couldn't stop the sobs that shook his body. "I'm so sorry Buck. I'm so sorry."

Minutes passed as they sat there in a comfortable silence. Bucky extracted himself from Steve's arms as he wiped his face on his sleeve. "If you tell anyone about this moment, I'll kill you."

Steve chuckled. "Your secret's safe with me. At least until we get Tony back."

Bucky gave him a sharp look as Steve continued, eyes narrowed in determination. "We think we know where Rhodes' ship is. Nat reached out to the Companion's guild and managed to find out the last location of The Marvel, the ship Rhodes is on. They've stopped on Asgard to refuel."

Bucky felt like the air was punched out of his chest. "So that means-"

Steve nodded. "We'll land tomorrow, and be able to get that holodrive tomorrow. And leave immediately afterwards hopefully with some help, to get Tony."

Relief filled his body and Bucky felt the tension leave his shoulders. "We're not gonna leave him."

Warmth filled Steve's eyes as he nudged Bucky's shoulder. "Of course not, Tony's _family._ And we don't leave each other behind."

Bucky could see the narrowing of Steve's eyes as he stood up. "Since he thinks we're planning on leaving him after delivering that holodrive, we'll have to make sure we drag him back so that he'll have to believe otherwise."

As Steve muttered to himself about 'stupid wayward engineers thinking they need to do everything themselves' Bucky couldn't help the burst of laughter that filled his chest.

 _Tony, hold on. We're coming for you._

* * *

As the crew of the Avenger landed on Asgard, they all stared at the procession waiting for them. Royal bodyguards stood waiting in a row as they eyed the crew warily. Thor shook everyone's hands enthusiastically before hauling them into a big hug.

"Thank you my friends! It has been an honour getting to travel with you all across the galaxy! I know that you have plans to rescue our friend, but please, stay the night! I may be able to provide you with some aid in your rescue mission."

Steve nodded, grasping Thor's shoulder. "We're going to miss you Thor, I mean your highness-"

Thor's laughter rumbled as he punched Steve in the shoulder. "We are friends Steven! You all may call me Thor. But, the sentiment is returned and I shall miss you all dearly."

Loki nodded to the crew, pausing as he approached the guards. "Good luck."

Thor's smile softened, turning to Bucky. "May the stars watch over you, and your mission succeed. I wish you and Tony all the happiness in the galaxy my friend."

Bucky swallowed. "Thanks Thor"

As Thor and his guards left the dock, Clint let out a laugh. "It looks like for once luck is on our side."

Clint pointed and as they all turned, Bucky felt a burst of anticipation. The Marvel was docked a little bit further down, gleaming in the sunlight.

Bucky clenched at the holodrive in his pocket. "Come on, let's go."

The Marvel was a gorgeous ship, and even from a distance Bucky could tell that someone put a lot of love into it. As Bucky and Steve walked closer, they could see that the doors were open, but there was no one there.

Bucky slowly approached. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

A long series of beeps greeted them as a small bot whirred over. Bucky looked on in astonishment as it got closer, beeping threateningly while it's arm waved the fire extinguisher at Bucky and Steve.

"DUM-E, NO!"

A dark haired man rushed off the ship as he rushed off to stand in front of the bot. Beeping, somehow the bot managed to look sheepish as the man started to scold it.

"DUM-E we've gone over this, you can't just threaten everyone that walks by-"

The bot visibly deflated as it spun in a circle, somehow pointing at Steve. "Don't worry about them, I'll talk to them in a minute. Now, go back inside and apologize to Sam. That wasn't very nice what you did earlier."

The bot let out a single sad beep. The man just crossed his arms, staring impassively down at the bot.

The bot grumbled, but spun around before rolling back inside the ship.

The man sighed before turning back to Bucky and Steve. "I'm sorry about him, he's just been pretty jumpy lately, it takes him a while to warm up to strangers.

Steve blinked. "That's an impressive bot. Did Tony make him?"

Surprise then suspicion settled over the man's frame as he watched them carefully. "And if it is, what's that to you?"

Steve stepped forward, hand outstretched."My name is Captain Steve Rogers, this here is Bucky. Tony was with us for a while and asked us to come find a Colonel Rhodes."

The man in front of them cursed. "Shit, if he's sent you without coming himself...I'm Colonel Rhodes. Where's he now?"

Bucky closed his eyes. "He was taken by the Alliance. He left us this to give to you."

Bucky stepped forward, handing over the holodrive. Rhodes' eyes widened as he grabbed the holodrive. "Son of a bitch….let's talk about this inside. Come on in."

* * *

Tony stared out the window. His cell was small and narrow with barely any light. The blue glow of the reactor shined brilliantly in the darkness.

He leaned his head on the glass, rubbing at his arm.

"You still here with me J?"

A warm voice responded. "Of course sir."

"I'm glad that I have you with me at least."

Tony sighed as he stabbed at the tray of food, pretending it was Rumlow's face. He came to gloat and sneer earlier, boasting about how he would be greatly rewarded for giving intel that captured the infamous murderer, Tony Stark. "I'm sorry you're stuck with me J. Maybe after I'm gone-"

JARVIS cut in, "There's no place I'd rather be than right here with you."

Hot tears blurred his vision as Tony rubbed at his face. He had never been afraid of dying. When Bruce had first confirmed Yinsen's diagnosis, Tony knew that it wasn't fear running through him, but a cold-acceptance. But now...

He missed Rhodey's warm hugs. He missed his Aunt Peggy's gentle forehead kisses. He missed DUM-E and even that stupid cave. He missed Steve's old-man jokes. He missed trying weird food with Clint. He missed working in the medbay with Bruce. He missed Natasha's experimental cooking. He missed the jovial jokes that Thor would make, or the annoyed looks that Loki gave everyone.

But most of all, he missed Bucky.

Bucky who would give Tony the best smiles and the best laughs. Bucky who would tug Tony in close and distract everyone else when Tony couldn't talk about it. Bucky who would help Tony in the engine room and ask Tony questions about everything. Bucky who would curl around Tony and stare in wonder at Tony's prosthetic. Bucky who wouldn't be afraid to grab Tony's hand and hold it tight.

Bucky who Tony loved.

Tony knows that he was luckier than most. The past few months had been some of the best that Tony's ever had. He shouldn't get to complain, he doesn't _deserve_ to complain...

At least...Tony wasn't alone.

"Thanks for being here with me J."

"For you sir, always."

* * *

"Pinch me. This is seriously happening right? This isn't just some weird sex dream?"

Clint yelped as Natasha pinched him, hard. Honestly, Bucky couldn't blame him, this was pretty fucking surreal. Along with the Avenger crew, the crew of the Marvel was gathered around the table. Captain Carol Danvers leaned against the back wall next to a larger man, Happy they called him.

Rhodes stood at the front of the room, fiddling with the conference panel. It wasn't long before Nick Fury was staring at them, projected above the table. Scars littered the side of his face and he listened carefully as Rhodes gave him a quick summary of their earlier meeting.

Even with just one eye, Fury somehow managed to glare an apology out of Clint. "So you've confirmed it Rhodes? Both holodrives are with you?"

Rhodes nodded. "Tony left the first one with DUM-E, and Bucky here gave us the second. Tony said that you'd be able to broadcast the info out to the galaxy."

Eye-patch pirate as Clint called him, scowled. "That was the plan, but there's been...complications. The radio tower we originally planned on using was destroyed. We think that HYDRA figured that you stole evidence, but wasn't sure exactly what it was, so they started to hit different towers to stop us. There's not one left standing."

Silence filled the room as they sat there in despair. The strawberry-blond on Bucky's left, Pepper, cut in. "How about Stark tower?"

Rhodes exhaled. "Right! The Stark's old mansion had a radio tower. I'd forgotten about that."

"Your issue with that," Fury cut in, "Is that there were only two people in the galaxy who had the codes to make it work. One of them is dead, and the other was taken away on an Alliance ship."

Hope bloomed in Bucky's chest. "So, to broadcast we need to-"

"Save Tony." Fury nodded. "Y'all just had to pick the most dramatic and difficult way to get things done didn't you?"

Steve straightened. "We'll do our best to help. We might have some extra help as well. Thor, the prince of Asgard, promised us some ships to help us if we needed it-"

Fury whistled. "Well now, you've got friends in high places Captain Rogers. It's a shame you aren't one of my ravagers. I'll send May and Hill with their fleet to help you out. Make sure to take those barrels with you."

Steve stared. "You were the one we were supposed to deliver the barrels to...but how'll they help? The Alliance soldiers pried them open, there's nothing but wine in there."

Fury snorted. "It's not what's in the barrels that important, but the barrels themselves. The weapons codes on there should help you out with some extra fire power."

Rhodes stood up. "Thanks Fury. Once we've got the details sorted out, we'll call you again."

Fury nodded. "Don't get yourselves killed, and don't screw up. We've got one shot at this." He slapped his fist across his chest in the ravager salute before the camera cut out.

Clint shivered. "That man is terrifying, even with the eye-patch."

Rhodes chuckled. "Yeah, well he's the leader of the ravagers for a reason." He pulled up a large map. "Alright, let's figure this out."

Clint snickered. "Save the engineer, save the galaxy?"

Bucky laughed, the first time in a long time that he's he felt the tension leave his body. Hope filled him as he vibrated in excitement. "Let's go save us an engineer."

* * *

An explosion in the distance rang out as Tony jolted awake. Blaster fire rang out as yelling rang out throughout the ship. Tony bolted to the window.

Fire and debris floated around as Tony saw flashes of the Marvel flying by. "Am I hallucinating, or is this really happening J?"

"It seems to be actually happening as you say sir. From my scans, it appears that Captain Danvers and Captain Rogers along with help from Thor and the Ravagers have managed to destroy most of the surrounding Alliance ships. They have boarded the ship."

"TONY!"

Tony whirled around. "RHODEYBEAR!"

Rhodey appeared, blaster in hand. "Stand back."

Tony scurried as far back as he could as Rhodey blasted the lock on the door. "Come on, we've gotta get outta here before the ship blows."

They made their way down the burning hallway, smoke quickly filling the air. Crouching down, Tony picked up a blaster from a dead Alliance soldier as they slowly made their way down the hall.

Blasts rang out as they got closer and closer to the firefight. Rhodey nudged his shoulder. "They're too many of them, we'll have to split up. You take the left corner, I'll head right. I'll meet you back at the ship."

Tony nodded as Rhodey ran out. Turning the left corner, Tony fired as he ducked from cover to cover.

"You're gonna havfta aim better than that doll, you missed half of those shots."

Happiness burst in his chest as Tony huffed. "Well,you know all the explosions and smoke and all makes it kinda hard to see."

Bucky shot a soldier before sliding down beside Tony. "I guess I can forgive ya for that. I can't forgive ya for leaving us though."

Tony hit two soldiers this time before ducking back down to re-load. "I had to. You know I did. I couldn't let you die."

Bucky growled as he shot another soldier rounding the corner. More and more soldiers were filling the area as they called for backup. He pushed Tony back down as large blast went off right above their shoulders. "I don't care if you think you need to save anyone else's life, don't do it. You hear me? No more self-sacrificing bullshit in the name of anyone else. Just save yourself."

Tony shot a few more shots before cursing. His clip was empty and they were surrounded. "Bucky-"

"I can't stand it. I can't stand losing you again. So please, _please_ -"

Tony pressed himself against Bucky as their lips clashed. Bucky clutched at Tony's hair as he moaned into his mouth. Their tongues battling as Bucky vaguely heard another explosion in the background.

"OH COME ON. I'M HAPPY FOR YOU BOTH BUT STOP MAKING OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLASTER FIGHT!"

Gasping for air, Bucky and Tony broke apart. Clint stared at them, unimpressed as he launched another plasma grenade at the scrambling group of soldiers. Clint shouted in glee as he launched himself at the incoming group of soldiers.

Tony peeked from behind the counter. "Shouldn't we help him?"

Bucky frowned. "I have a feeling he'd just yell at us later for 'stealing his thunder'."

Clint's voice yelled back. "I MIGHT'VE KINDA UNDERESTIMATED HOW MANY THERE ARE. GET IN HERE TO STEAL MY THUNDER. SAVE ME YOU ASSHOLES."

Bucky couldn't hold back the dopey grin on his face as he stared down at Tony. "Come on space cowboy, let's go."

Tony grinned up at him before running off "Space _pirate_ actually."

Bucky smirked as he ran after Tony, battle cry echoing as they ran into the flames.

* * *

[ **2 Years Later]**

Tony stared down at his empty cereal box in despair. "Dammit Clint."

Arms wrapped around his torso and Tony relaxed as he leaned into the touch. His chest was still tender after the surgery, but thankfully Bruce said the pain should go away as his body adjusted to his new reactor. "Clint stole all of our cereal, again."

Tony closed his eyes as Bucky nuzzled his neck. "We'll just have to make sure we steal his chocolate then."

Tony sighed in contentment as he turned around, still enclosed in Bucky's arms. "Nah, if I do, Natasha will kill me. Those pregnancy hormones are nothing to laugh about."

Bucky shuddered. He saw Bruce and Clint's eyes widen at him in horror, but after having a million things tossed at his head, Bucky figured it was just safer to never eat any of Nat's food again.

Bucky leaned down with a smile, an inch away from Tony's lips. "Normally I'd say I'd rescue you, but not even I'd go there."

Tony pouted. "What happened to 'I'll rescue you no matter what Tony, no matter how dangerous it gets'"

Bucky snorted. "From raiders? Sure. From the Alliance? No problem. But even I know better than to poke at Natasha."

Tony slid his arms around Bucky's neck. "Not even for a...reward?"

Bucky pulled Tony's hips closer. "Hmm, whaddya have in mind?"

SLURP.

Tony leapt back, cheeks burning a bright red as he whirled around. Clint was leaning against the counter, waggling his eyebrows as he held onto his cup of coffee.

"Don't mind me. Pretend I'm not here."

Tony sighed as he pecked Bucky lightly on the lips. "I've got to go do some more repairs in the workshop anyways, I promised Steve I'd work on that new shielding system. I'll see you later babe." Tony grabbed his mug off the table as he left the kitchen.

Clint gulped, coughing and hacking as he felt the temperature of the room suddenly drop. Bucky loomed over him, glaring daggers as Clint realized his grave mistake. Clint screamed as he felt his soul leave his body.

Tony looked up as Bucky slid into the stool beside him. Tony reached out his right hand, squeezing gently. "Everything alright?"

Bucky squeezed back. "Everything's perfect."

And it was.

* * *

 _A/N: And we're done! I probably could've eventually turned this into a 200k+ long epic - I had some other ideas and backstories with the other characters, but there's no way I would've completed the gift exchange on time if I tried. Make sure to check out the rest of the 2017 Winteriron Springfling gifts over on ao3 - there's a lot more wonderful stories and art to enjoy!_

 _Let me know what you thought of this one! Feel free to drop by and say hello on tumblr - I open up prompts every once in a while that I don't tend to post here, so find me over there at summerpipedream_


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